In a first in India, Public Sector Company Assam Petrochemicals Limited (APL) is all set to introduce methanol as cleaner, cheaper cooking fuel alternative to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the State.

APL is planning to introduce the pilot project on October 5 this year with 500 burners and stoves, each fueled by a 1.2-litre canister of methanol.

"We will launch the pilot project at our APL Township (Namrup) on October 5. If it is a success, we will launch it commercially. The use of methanol or methyl alcohol as an alternative to (LPG) will help reduce cost of cooking", APL Chairman Jagadish Bhuyan informed.

The company is considering rolling out commercial production after almost two months of monitoring the project from its launch at Namrup.

The new cooking fuel project is expected to be a game-changer for APL, India's first natural gas-based petrochemicals company, which has undertaken a Rs 1,337 crore expansion project to produce 600 tonnes of methanol and 325 tonnes of formaldehyde per day by September 2019.