$420 Million Secured for Second CNG Plant at JUTC Spanish Town Depot

An investment of $420 million is being made by Jamaica’s largest independent power supplier, InterEnergy Group, for the development of the second compressed natural gas (CNG) facility, at the Jamaica Urban Transit Company’s (JUTC’s) Spanish Town depot.

The disclosure was made by Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSETT), Hon. Daryl Vaz, during a press briefing at the Ministry’s offices in Kingston, on Thursday (May 22).

“This facility will be able to fuel 202 CNG buses per day. Added to the [existing facility at the] Spanish Town depot, that is a total of 397 CNG buses per day,” the Minister outlined.

Mr. Vaz pointed out that the JUTC’s CNG fleet currently has 127 buses, while another 100 are set to arrive in the island within weeks.

“When the InterEnergy facility is completed, we will not only have the capacity to fuel the 227 CNG buses in the fleet but we will also have the capacity to fuel 75 per cent above the demand that will exist for the JUTC with the CNG,” the Transport Minister maintained.

He noted that the InterEnergy facility is expected to be completed between August and September of this year.

“The [new CNG] buses will get here by the middle to the end of June. That is down time. School is off, and we will be in a better position to start back-to-school, not only with the buses being fuelled in Portmore but the new facility in Spanish Town,” he outlined.

Meanwhile, the Minister indicated that the Government has received a proposal from Xcelerate Energy, which has indicated that it is prepared to fund and build out Phase 3 of the Portmore CNG fuel plant, taking the facility’s capacity up to 195 buses per day.

The Government’s investment in CNG buses is expected to further improve operational efficiencies at the JUTC, while leading to significant savings.