About 24 states are participating in the CNG conversion project in a bid to reduce fuel expenses as efforts towards more sustainable and affordable modes of transport are now increasing in momentum in Nigeria.
The Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles, Ismaeel Ahmed, disclosed that much has been achieved within a period of less than three years.
Speaking during the Nigerian Oil and Gas Midstream and Downstream Summit held in Lagos, he said Nigeria will have up to 2,322 stations for CNG in the next five years.
According to Ahmed, who spoke through his representative, Olayinka Rufai, CNG was commercially available in just one state within the country until recently when it reached 24 states. He added that such growth has happened very fast compared to others anywhere in the world considering the financial problems.
According to him, over 100,000 cars, primarily commercial buses and taxis, have been retrofitted for CNG in order to cushion the effects of lifting the subsidy from fuel prices among ordinary Nigerians.
This program has been able to attract over $1 billion worth of investment, while there are 72 CNG stations across the country and 28 compressing stations. There are hundreds more being constructed.
In addition, Ahmed noted that over 5,600 Nigerian technicians have been trained in the process of converting vehicles to CNG, while 350 centers have been set up for converting automobiles.
According to the Managing Director, natural gas is much cheaper than petrol and costs between N380 and N450 per cubic meter while petrol costs more than N1, 300 per liter.
