The deployment of dispensing pumps for Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, have risen by 233 per cent in six months since November last year.
Coordinator and Chief Executive, Presidential Initiative on CNG, Pi-CNG, Mr. Michael Oluwagbemi, disclosed this while addressing journalists during a tour of the Mikano International CNG based vehicle assembly plant in Ogun State.
Meanwhile, Mikano has indicated intention to deploy 18 CNG dispensing points across the country in support of the widespread adoption of CNG.
Oluwagbemi said: “Since we started this program, in November of last year, we had less than 18 pumps, dispensers in Nigeria doing CNG commercials. But as of today we have over 60 of them and people are building every year.
“If you go to Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA now there are over 120 applications waiting to install.”
Speaking further, he said: “The purpose of this tour was to see the capacity of our manufacturing partner, which Mikano is one of them, to be able to meet the demands of Nigeria in terms of manufacturing, to support the CNG revolution, presidential CNG initiative, which is led by Mr. President, through the President Initiative on CNG.
“And here we’ve all seen not just the capacity, we utilisation of gas which the President has been talking about.
Speaking on the company’s commitment to promotion of CNG adoption, Chairman Mikano International, Mofid Karameh,said, “Mikano has started assembling CNG based vehicles. We have orders for so many buses from the government, all of them CNG. There are so many stations built up.
“Mikano is also building a station along Sagamu expressway to fill a few of the vehicles and for the transport. And more than 18 stations are happening in the country.
“I believe within the next six months. At least 30% of our vehicles should be CNG, or with a service of CNG.”