Richard Ginika Izuora
The Federal Government through the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGi) Steering Committee, is projecting to attract over $ 2 billion in investment into the Nigerian economy and create more than 250 employment opportunities for different professionals.
The Chief Executive Officer, P-CNGi, Engr. Micheal Oluwagbemi disclosed this at the weekend during the official commissioning of CNG conversion centres and demonstration of some converted CNG vehicles, which is in partnership with the private sector at Femadec Group’s head office, one of the partners on the initiatives.
He stressed that CNG is home-made with the capacity to boost the nation’s economy and help to stabilise the inflation rate, adding that Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural gas to be used for both industrial and domestic purposes and to reduce the cost of transportation. “We hope that the process of the CNG conversion program with private sector companies will attract an investment of well over $ 2 billion and create over 250, 000 jobs. This initiative will require more hands to further create opportunities for engagements in the automobile industry starting from the manufacturers to technicians and floor workers at conversion stations and refueling stations.
He said the committee is looking at having 10, 000 CNG vehicle conversion workshops in Lagos very soon.
Speaking on the cost of conversion, Oluwagbemi stated that it could cost between N300,000 to about N600,000, depending on the compatibility of the exchange rates until Nigeria would begin to assemble and manufacture CNG conversion kits.
He said though CNG conversion kits have been imported into the country, the government is working towards ensuring that in the next six to nine months, Nigerian companies begin to manufacture kits and create employment opportunities.
“It costs between N300,000 to about N600,000 to convert to CNG-enabled vehicles. The cost of converting vehicles to CNG depends on the type of car and components such as those that come with four valves, and six or eight valves’ engines. It also depends on the storage capacity of the vehicle that you want to convert as this also determines the range of distance the vehicle can cover.
“For now, we are bringing conversion kits into the country. But, under this initiative that serves as palliative for Nigerians, the government is giving out discounts on the immediate cost of conversion for Nigerians and will also allow slow or part payment over time as the committee continues to review the CNG initiative with more programs on discounts and others.
The Chief Executive Officer, Femadec Limited, Fola Akinola said the partnership has been long expected such that the firm can also deploy resources to make sure that Nigerians make good use of their natural gas. “We started the project with our funds. I hope with this take-off, there will be financing structures from banks through the federal government in addition to the P-CNGi intervention”.
A CNG technician, Engr. Victor Ibrahim said the government is currently training more engineers to be deployed across the country as soon as they are done from the academy. “We retrofit vehicles to run on CNG and we are going to increase the number very soon”,