18/07/2012 (Bernama) - The government proposes to extend the implementation of the B5 Fuel Usage Programme in stages nationwide, including for unsubsidised sectors latest by 2014, said Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin.

He told the Dewan Negara on Tuesday that the government had fully implemented the programme in the Central Region covering Putrajaya, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Selangor on Nov 1 last year.

"Since Feb 15, the government widened the programme to subsidised sectors in the Central Region in the field of fisheries, skid tank, fleet card and water transportation," he said.

Hamzah said this when asked to answer a question from Datuk Boon Som Inong who wanted an explanation on the progress of the B5 Fuel Usage Programme and how far its use affected the environment.

He said the supply of new fuel, biodiesel or B5, was a mixture of five per cent palm oil-based biofuel and 95 per cent petroleum diesel which was environmentally-friendly and reduced green house gases compared to fossil diesel.