Nigeria has recorded about 160 operational Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) refuelling stations throughout the nation, with one other 170 amenities at varied phases of improvement and licensing, as the federal authorities intensifies efforts to develop entry to cheaper different gas.
The Executive Chairman of the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI), Ismaeel Ahmed, disclosed this on Friday through the commissioning of a CNG Integrated Refuelling Unit (IRU) station alongside New Karu Road, Saint George Akume Way, Karu, Abuja.
Mr Ahmed mentioned the initiative had attracted roughly $2.6 billion in private-sector investments in lower than two years, describing the rising investor curiosity as proof that the market had moved past the proof-of-concept stage.
“This is almost our 106th station across the country in less than two years. This is not beginning any longer. The market has been proven, and investors are trooping in,” he mentioned.
He mentioned the extra stations have been present process improvement or awaiting varied approvals and licences from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to him, President Bola Tinubu has additionally directed one other spherical of infrastructure deployment, together with 1,500 models in February and a further 500 in August, that are anticipated to come back on stream between this 12 months and early subsequent 12 months.
Mr Ahmed mentioned the growth was essential to speed up the adoption of CNG in a rustic with greater than 220 million folks and roughly 12 million autos.
He argued that Nigeria wanted to maneuver quicker in growing different gas infrastructure to fulfill the nation’s transportation and power calls for.
“It took Nigeria about 60 years to build approximately 24,000 conventional petrol stations, most of which are privately owned. We are seeing a much faster adoption of CNG and electric vehicles, and the scale of interest is encouraging,” he mentioned.
CNG reduces transportation prices
The PCNGI chairman argued that the adoption of CNG-powered autos had decreased transportation fares by between 30 and 40 per cent on some routes the place the buses have been already working.
He cited Abuja, Lagos and Kano, as nicely as inter-state routes between Kano and Katsina, as areas the place passengers have been benefiting from decrease transportation prices.
According to him, passengers who beforehand paid between N3,000 and N4,000 on some routes now pay about N1,500 when travelling in CNG-powered buses.
He mentioned the initiative was designed to increase the advantages to all native authorities areas, notably these with excessive concentrations of economic autos and passenger visitors.
However, acknowledging that the prevailing fleet remained inadequate to fulfill demand, Mr Ahmed mentioned the federal government was working to deploy extra buses and develop entry to the choice gas.
Asked how the federal government arrived on the reported 30–40 per cent discount in transportation fares, he mentioned the figures have been primarily based on comparisons between fares charged by operators earlier than and after the introduction of CNG-powered buses on chosen routes.
He defined that the initiative obtained data from transport operators about earlier fares and in contrast them with the fares charged after the adoption of CNG.
(*160*) House leads by instance
Also talking on the commissioning ceremony , the Permanent Secretary, (*160*) House, Temitope Fashedemi, mentioned the power demonstrated the federal authorities’s dedication to selling CNG as a less expensive different to petrol following the elimination of the petrol subsidy.
Mr Fashedemi mentioned President Tinubu’s administration had launched CNG as a part of efforts to cushion the influence of subsidy elimination on Nigerians, notably within the transportation and power sectors.
He mentioned Nigeria’s plentiful pure fuel sources, which had traditionally been underutilised and flared, offered a possibility to offer cheaper power alternate options for households and companies.
According to him, the (*160*) House determined to reveal the viability of the initiative by rehabilitating an deserted gas depot inside its premises and changing it right into a CNG refuelling facility.
He defined that the federal government partnered with the PCNGI and chosen Rolling Energy Limited as the private-sector operator to rehabilitate and improve the power.
Mr Fashedemi mentioned the (*160*) House supplied the prevailing infrastructure and site, whereas the private-sector companion financed the rehabilitation and upgrading of the power.
“The State House did not spend public funds on the facility. We provided the infrastructure and made the location available, while the private-sector partner invested in rehabilitating and upgrading it,” he mentioned.
He added that the power additionally housed a automobile conversion centre the place motorists may convert eligible autos to run on CNG.
The everlasting secretary disclosed that the (*160*) House had acquired some hybrid autos, whereas some buses working inside the Villa premises additionally run on different power.
He mentioned some (*160*) House workers would additionally deliver their autos for conversion within the coming weeks, topic to technical assessments to find out their suitability.
Mr Fashedemi mentioned the initiative was supposed to reveal that the federal government was keen to steer by instance somewhat than merely advocate the adoption of other fuels.
He urged non-public buyers to reap the benefits of the alternatives within the CNG market, noting that authorities assist by infrastructure partnerships may speed up the growth of refuelling amenities.
Private sector partnership
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Rolling Energy Limited, Mubarak Danbatta, described the undertaking as an instance of the advantages of collaboration between authorities and personal buyers.
Mr Danbatta recommended the (*160*) House for making the deserted facility accessible for redevelopment, saying the partnership demonstrated how the federal government may facilitate non-public funding by offering entry to present infrastructure.
“What you are seeing here is the power of partnership. When private entities and governments come together, this is the result,” he mentioned.
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He defined that the power, recognized as an Integrated Refuelling Unit, mixed the dispenser and compressor in a single system, with double-nozzle dispensers that enable autos to refuel from each side.
According to him, the station has the capability to serve roughly 150 autos every day, relying on cylinder measurement and stress.
Its automobile conversion centre can be projected to transform about 12 autos every day.
The rising funding in CNG infrastructure comes as Nigeria seeks to diversify its power combine and scale back dependence on petrol, notably following the elimination of gas subsidies in May 2023.
The Tinubu-led administration has repeatedly argued that the adoption of the CNG know-how is a part of the broader effort to cut back excessive price of residing pressures on Nigerians resulting from among the ongoing reforms initiated by the federal government.
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