Faisalabad gets first mobile fuel lab

New initiative aims to test petrol quality on the spot

FAISALABAD:

A mobile fuel testing lab, launched for the first time in Faisalabad under the provincial government's Pollution-Free Division initiative, has formally become operational.

Commissioner Raja Jahangir Anwar visited the lab and reviewed its fuel testing procedures on Wednesday.

He said fuel samples from six petrol stations were examined on the first day, adding that on-site testing will now detect adulteration and poor-quality fuel in real time.

More than 1,000 petrol pumps across the division are set to be inspected.

The commissioner said the Punjab government had specially allocated this mobile testing facility for Faisalabad, which will also help determine whether fuel being sold is locally sourced or smuggled.

He noted that vehicle emissions remain a major contributor to smog, placing a heavy burden on both the national exchequer and the healthcare system. Alongside dust suppression efforts, the government is undertaking significant reforms in fuel quality control, he added.

"Despite millions of vehicles on the road, Punjab did not have a single fuel testing lab until recently," he said. "Now, three modern laboratories in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan, along with three mobile units, are conducting daily testing."

Punjab's new vehicle emission testing system — equipped with 100 analysers and 22 fixed stations in Lahore alone — has screened more than 260,000 vehicles this year, he said.