Liquigas this morning launched the first autogas filling point in Malta at the MIA filling station.

Liquigas officials said that all petrol-engined cars can run on auto gas after conversion, with the costs of the conversion ranging from €700 to €1,300 depending on the engine size.

Auto gas costs approximately half the price of normal petrol and officials said an average car would recoup its conversion costs within a year.

The fuel is cleaner and less polluting than petrol, with lower CO2, NOX and particulate matter emissions.

Liquigas CEO Roberto Capelluto and chief operating officer Paul Agius Delicata said several other filling station owners had expressed an interest in selling autogas. A number of restrictions apply, however, notably that such stations cannot be close to residential areas.

The officials stressed that engine conversions should only be carried out by licensed garages, of which there are currently only two.

Today's launch was made in the presence of Resources Minister George Pullicino. In an address, Mr Pullicino pointed out that the authorities had published regulations on autogas almost two years ago, thus not having waited for the product to come onto the market.

He also welcomed the fact that the Liquigas new storage facility is set to become operational in the summer, a development which will lead to the closure of the Qajjenza plant.

Mr Capelluto said future pricing of autogas will depend on the international price of LPG but fluctuations were normally in parallel with that of oil and the price difference was therefore expected to remain the same.

Seven million cars run on LPG auto gas in Europe, 2% of the total number of cars.