Sanjay Rupani, the sales director, JET Motor Company Electric Vehicles, said greater percentage of the compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles the Federal Government of Nigeria commissioned the company to deliver, are available in Nigeria.
Although, Rupani couldn’t give TECHECONOMY specific number of the CNG Vehicles currently available for delivery, our correspondent gathered that the company was commissioned to provide 200 CNG Vehicles for the FG’s initiative.
His words:
“We are working towards our deliverable, as we talk most of the vehicles are already available and been assembled now.”
Recall that JET Motor Company Electric Vehicles, is one of the four plants, said to have received the SKD parts, coupling the buses in Lagos and working towards delivering 200 units before the first anniversary of the President Tinubu administration.
Other plants includes; Mikano, Mojo, and Brilliant EV.
While efforts to get update from Mikano proved abortive as there was no response to the inquires by our correspondent as at time of filing this report, earlier Mr. Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, confirmed that the first set of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles will be inaugurated before Tinubu administration’s first anniversary on May 29.
According to him, the Federal Government allocated N100 billion from the N500 billion palliative budget to purchase 5,500 CNG vehicles (buses and tricycles), 100 electric buses, and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits.
He further explained this funding also supports the expansion of CNG refilling and electric charging stations.
“After months of detailed planning and background work, the committee driving the initiative is set to deliver on President Tinubu’s vision and promise.
The CNG Initiative was designed to deliver compressed natural gas especially for mass transit.
The Federal Government as part of the many intervention programmes to reduce the burden of increase in pump price on the masses, provided N100 billion (part of the N500 billion palliative budget) to purchase 5500 CNG vehicles (buses and tricycles), 100 Electric buses and over 20,000 CNG conversion kits, alongside spurring the development of CNG refilling stations and electric charging stations.
After months of detailed planning and background work, the committee driving the initiative is set to deliver on President Tinubu’s vision and promise.
The committee, being led by Michael Oluwagbemi, an oil and gas expert, has delivered some major foundational reforms to enable the new CNG and Electric Vehicles future the President promised. All is now ready for delivery of the first set of critical assets for deployment and launch of the CNG initiative ahead of the first anniversary of the Tinubu administration on May 29.
With necessary tax and duty waivers approved by President Tinubu in December 2023, the PCNGI committee is partnering with the private sector to deliver the promise on the initiative.
The private sector has responded with over $50 million in actual investments in refuelling stations, conversion centres, and mother stations.
Also, a safety policy document on 80 standards and regulations that must be strictly adhered to by operators has been developed and approved to ensure CNG conversions are done safely and reliably.
The deployment of CNG buses and tricycles and the vision to get at least one million natural gas propelled vehicles on our roads by 2027 will mark a major energy transition in our country’s transportation industry.
The use of more expensive diesel and PMS will gradually be phased out, when many vehicles, including trucks run on natural gas, which our nation has in abundance in at least 30 out of the 36 states of the federation.
Studies have shown that, one of the main causes of air pollution is primarily the amount of gases emitted by gasoline and diesel engines. To reduce the pollution, some countries of the world, such as India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Brazil , Argentina, Italy have built fleets of natural gas powered vehicles, instead of going the route of relying on liquid petroleum products propelled vehicles.
Natural gas vehicles reduce tail pipe emission by up to 40 percent, and Nigeria’s commitment to this course will enable her meet her nationally determined commitments (NDCs) under Paris Climate Accord to which we are signatory.
Hence, towards the end of May 2024, Nigeria will take some baby steps to join such nations that already have large fleets of CNG vehicles.
Remarkably, the Tinubu administration, in driving the nation to the desired destination, has flagged open a new industry, along with thousands of new jobs.
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