MOSCOW, 13 July – RIA Novosti. The Russian government plans to strengthen support for the gas filling business by increasing the number of regions where it will be possible to receive subsidies for the construction of methane gas filling stations, reported on the website of the Council of Ministers.

“The government will seek to expand the list of regions where private enterprises can apply for subsidies for the construction of gas filling networks with methane gas,” the government said in a statement.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak held a meeting on the development of the gas engine fuel market, with the participation of the Chairman of the Board of Gazprom, Viktor Zubkov.

According to Novak, it is planned to develop the gas engine market not only with further expansion of support for regions and businesses, but also for drivers. “Focusing on increasing the number of vehicles – it is important to provide subsidies for the purchase and re-equipment of cars. To do this, it is also necessary to analyze the need to simplify the re-equipment mechanism. As for LNG, transport corridors and gas stations under construction need to be synchronized,” he said.

Zubkov noted that Gazprom’s network of gas filling stations covers 63 regions, and by 2024 it can increase from 600 existing points to 1,000. Also, according to him, “Gazprom” sets the task of achieving annual gas consumption in transport of at least 10 billion cubic meters.