Russia hopes to seize the opportunity presented by it hosting a major sporting event presents to boost investment in a country’s transport infrastructure and to put cash into new clean technologies.
For this year’s FIFA World Cup, Russian cities were buying more gas-powered vehicles and expanding refueling infrastructure before the tournament.
On Tuesday, Gazprom announced the completion of 47 CNG refueling stations for use during the World Cup that will help supply the CNG buses and taxis ordered by the municipal government before the event.
“By the start of the World Cup, Gazprom renovated four stations here in the Rostov Region: two in Rostov-on-Don, one in Aksai, and one in Bataisk. The upgraded CNG stations supply natural gas to 50 large buses acquired for the event by the regional administration, as well as to gas-fueled taxi fleets,” said Gazprom’s Viktor Zubkov.
A party of CNG buses, manufactured by Russia’s NEFAZ, are in use in the city of Yekaterinburg. All buses are equipped with Euro-5 standard, 279 hp Daimler M906 LAG gas engines. In addition, GPS/GLONASS navigation systems and destination indicators are also installed, Russian media reported.
