Nigeria Now Has 106 CNG Stations As FG Attracts $2.6bn Investment
- Nigeria now has 106 operational CNG stations as the federal government expands infrastructure to reduce transportation costs.
- Another 170 stations are under development or awaiting regulatory approvals, according to the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles.
- The initiative's chairman, Ismaeel Ahmed, said private investors have committed $2.6 billion to the sector as the government encourages more investment.
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Nigeria now has 106 operational compressed natural gas (CNG) stations, with another 170 at different stages of development or awaiting regulatory approvals, as the federal government steps up efforts to reduce transportation costs.
The Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), Ismaeel Ahmed, disclosed this during the commissioning of a CNG Integrated Refuelling Unit (IRU) Station by Pi-CNG & EV and Rolling Energy in Karu.
Source: UGC
Ahmed said the additional stations were awaiting different licences from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) or undergoing construction.
He disclosed that private investors had committed about $2.6 billion to the CNG sector, noting that most of the stations were privately owned.
According to him, the federal government is supporting the expansion through policies designed to make it easier for investors to establish refuelling facilities.
Nigeria records rapid CNG adoption
Ahmed said Nigeria's progress in developing CNG infrastructure was significant, considering the time it took to establish conventional petrol stations across the country.
He noted that it took Nigeria about 60 years to build 24,000 petrol stations, while the CNG sector was expanding at a much faster pace.
He described the development as evidence of Nigeria's rapid adoption of CNG and electric vehicles, adding that more entrepreneurs were showing interest in investing in the sector.
He said:
“We are moving at a scale that is very impressive. The work is in progress and a lot of entrepreneurs are seeing the need for this and they are coming in and we're calling them to come in and invest more."
The Pi-CNG chairman added that the introduction of CNG buses had helped reduce transport fares along some routes.
However, he said more buses were needed to expand the benefits and drive down fares further.
FG targets lower transport costs
Also speaking at the commissioning, the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Temitope Fashedemi, said CNG adoption would help Nigerians cope with rising petrol prices.
He explained that expanding the number of refuelling stations would improve access to the alternative fuel and reduce pressure on existing facilities.
Fashedemi expressed optimism that more investors would establish stations as the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project progresses.
He said:
“The stations will reduce the pressure in other places that we're going to, and they can come here and refuel at any time, and even convert."
Source: Getty Images
He urged investors with the financial capacity to establish more facilities, describing the expansion as important to making affordable energy available to Nigerians.
Meanwhile, the Chairman and Founder of Rolling Energy, Mubarak Umar Danbatta, said the newly commissioned facility would support the federal government's efforts to strengthen energy security.
The expansion of CNG infrastructure is part of Nigeria's broader push to promote alternative fuels, reduce dependence on petrol and lower transportation expenses for households and businesses.
FG predicts new naira to dollar exchange rate
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Taiwo Oyedele, Nigeria's minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, has cautioned that restoring petrol subsidies could push the naira as low as N4,000 to the dollar, warning that even a hint of policy reversal would be enough to rattle financial markets.
Oyedele made the remarks at a press briefing following the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand
Oyedele explained that news of a possible subsidy restoration could prompt foreign investors to pull funds out of Nigeria while pushing local business owners and wealthy Nigerians to convert their savings into dollars as a hedge against risk.
Source: Legit.ng
