Gas-fired Buses Expected To Save Nigeria $2.5bn Annually
The planned introduction of gas-fired buses is expected to save Nigeria over $2.5bn annually, by reducing the cost of fuel in the transportation and power generation sector by over 30 percent.
It is also expected to reduce the cost of bus ticket for passengers.
The strategic alliance between European Technologies for Africa (ETEFA) and Power Gas for the clean economic and safe transportation programme under the gas flare monetisation projects, intend deploy the gas-fired city buses for commercial transportation.
Disclosing this in a media briefing in Lagos, the Power Gas General Manager, Sumeet Singh, stated that the country’s gas flare activities if captured and processed, could power up to 200,000 gas-fired city buses and trucks for commercial use.
Singh, who noted that as a domestically available natural resource, effective utilisation was extremely important, adding that it was vital to sustain a cleaner environment.
He added: “The introduction of over 200,000 commercial gas-fired city buses and trucks for transportation will lower the cost of ticket prices for passengers, while doubling the power generation capacity of the country and also improving the quality of the environment.”
In his remarks, the European Technologies for Africa’s (ETEFA) Chief Executive Officer, Johann Rieger, revealed that in order to show the full potential of the economies of the compressed natural gas (CNG) city buses, they collaborated with leading European partners, “to develop a high quality 12-meter compressed natural gas city bus prototype which its local testing will begin with strategic local partners middle of 2019, for the special needs and infrastructure requirements in Nigeria.”
Rieger, stated that this initiative would boost employment, technology transfer and strategic knowledge sharing.
He also noted that the ETEFA is ready to support local manufacturers with the technology to manufacture such buses to be directly licenced in the country.
“Depending on test results and respective orders, local serial production could start by one of the well-established car manufacturers in Nigeria by 2020,” he added.
