TASHKENT, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan is drafting a government decree that will order brick, cement and lime factories, as well as enterprises with boiler equipment to use alternative fuels instead of natural gas.
New measures are required due to high energy intensity of the domestic economy and need for diversifying energy use, said the decree, which was published on the government website for public discussion.
These enterprises would be recommended to use alternative types of fuel, including coal, coal briquettes and pallets, biogas and others.
The document said switching brick and lime factories to coal would release more than 2 billion cubic meters of gas annually.
Natural gas till remains a primary fuel in the country's industry and the process of transferring technological productions from using gas to other alternate types of fuel is not properly organized, according to the draft document.
A special government commission will draw up a list of the enterprises subject to the conversion by June 1, the document said.
