KATHMANDU: The Council of Ministers approved the ‘Order on mixing ethanol in petrol, 2082’ at a meeting held on Monday. The proposal was tabled by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
With this decision, the legal framework for ethanol blending in petrol has been opened. The ministry will now prepare detailed procedures and move towards implementation.
Nepal had earlier introduced a provision in 2003 to allow ethanol blending in petroleum products. However, it remained limited to policy documents and was not implemented.
At that time, the government had allowed blending of up to 10 percent ethanol in imported petroleum products. A notice was published in the Nepal Gazette on December 15, 2003.
Studies and recommendations made since then have continued to support ethanol blending.
Nepal imports petroleum products mainly from India. India currently allows ethanol blending of up to 20 percent in petrol.
