Govt to include ethanol-driven vehicles on its fleet

Malawi Government has said it plans to include ethanol-driven vehicles on its fleet to support the private sector-championed ethanol-driven vehicles project (EDVP), an initiative touted to reduce reliance on imported petroleum fuel.

The project, set to roll out between July and August this year, according to the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera), would enable government save millions of kwacha used to purchase fuel for its vehicles.

Deputy director in the Department of Energy Affairs Joseph Kalowekamo, in an interview this week, said government is looking forward to the project, observing that the usage of ethanol in vehicles will lessen the fuel import bill, which takes up a sizable amount of the country’s foreign exchange.

“To show government’s full support for the project, we will among our vehicles put others that will be using ethanol. This will enable government to save money spent on fuel purchases for other essential purposes,” he said.

Kalowekamo commended companies in ethanol production for showing interest to increase the production to meet the demand of ethanol users, which is likely to rise once the project is fully operational.