Oil Marketing Companies Association of Zambia (OMCAZ) says blended fuel will be cheaper for consumers and will allow the country to save resources.
The Energy Regulation Board (ERB) has developed and approved the technical specifications for blending fuels in Zambia.
Association President Dr. Kafula Mubanga explained that blended fuel is expected to be cheaper because producers will be using local materials to blend, which reduces the cost of production as well as the cost of doing business and attracts more labour in terms of production thereby creating jobs and providing affordable products as well as competitive products.
Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times-ZBT, Mubanga said there are many blending materials that can be used to blend fuels including ethanol.
“You are blending so if you are importing 50% of products then the other 50% is as a byproduct of blended material, it means your importation cost goes low and the rest of it goes towards empowering your local materials for blending purposes”, he said.
He noted that many companies have applied for licenses, which will enable them to blend fuel and make it available to consumers.
Dr. Mubanga added that blending fuels requires a lot of investment because a plant is required therefore those that will have a system in place will have the privilege to be able to blend fuels.
“You need more than $200, 000, 000 to set up a plant because the equipment needed is very expensive”, he said.
The Association President said hopefully this will come into fruition by October this year adding that bio-fuel blending will save the country a lot of resources.
