By Nudoiba Ojen
The Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNGI) has said that no fewer than 10,000 commercial vehicles will benefit from the Federal Government’s compressed natural gas conversion initiative.
PCNGI on Saturday began free conversion of commercial vehicles across the federation, an exercise that targets 10,000 commercial vehicles in its first phase.
Speaking at the vehicle compatibility inspection exercise held at a conversion centre in the Ajah area of Lagos on Saturday, PCNGI Strategic Project Adviser, Olayinka Rufai, noted that the programme also targets 1,000,000 vehicles by 2027.
Rufai said that the exercise would convert 1,000 commercial vehicles in one week at the pilot stage of first-come, first-served.
Rufai stressed, “We have a conversion incentive programme that is supposed to take, in its first tranch, about 10,000 vehicles. With this particular first-come, first-served initiative, we are looking to push out as many as a thousand vehicles before the end of the week.
“Our objective in the long run is to convert a million vehicles by 2027. We have 20 centres nationwide, and we will continue to increase along the line.
“Conversion centres are not regular mechanic workshops. There are safety measures that must be checked and put in place before we can certify a place as a conversion centre.”
He urged investors and private entities to support the initiative by setting up CNG stations across the nation.
“We are encouraging private investors to do what they can to establish CNG stations. We do not believe that this is something that is going away, so I call on any organisation, groups, or individuals to get on board and support this initiative,” he said.
He stated further that the decision to target commercial vehicles was to ensure that the major idea of reducing the hardship of the common man through a reduction in their daily spending on transportation.
He continued, “We are targeting commercial vehicles because they carry a large number of people and by doing so, we are reducing the cost spent on transport for a large number of people and if we can do that, we can have a lot of impact on the disposable income which transportation is a major part. We are not just doing this for doing sake. There is an economic justification for targeting commercial vehicles.”
Also speaking, the Technical Head at the Ajah conversion centre, Azeez Adekanmbi, stressed that the conversion process requires each vehicle to be inspected for compatibility with the available conversion kits.
“We are currently conducting an inspection of vehicles to assess their compatibility because of the available kits, which are four cylinders and six cylinders.
“CNG, unlike petrol, combusts completely when used, so there are almost zero emissions released, thereby reducing the danger. It is also not prone to explosion in the case of a leak,” Adekanmbi stressed.
The PCNGi had earlier begun the distribution of free CNG kits to commercial drivers in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and the Federal Capital Territory.
It was disclosed that the initiative would reduce the current cost of transportation by about 40 per cent.
