Abuja: The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (PiCNG) and Electric Vehicles (EVs) says it has attracted more than two billion dollars in investments in the CNG subsector.
The Executive Chairman/CEO, PiCNG, Mr Ismaeel Ahmed, made this known on Friday in Abuja at the unveiling of Alfa Design Nigeria Limited’s CNG products and stakeholders’ engagement, in collaboration with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The products were unveiled by the PiCNG boss, alongside other dignitaries.
The dignitaries included Malam Ali M. Ali, NAN Managing Director; Mr Mubarak Abdul, Alfa Designs Chief Operating Officer; Pankaj Bohhra, Mijo Auto Gas; PiCNG officials; and others.
The products unveiled included CNG conversion kits by Mijo AutoGas, a CNG cylinder by EKC International, a CNG Mother Station by CIMC ENRIC, and an Optical Gas Imaging Camera by Opgal Optronics.
Mr Zayyanu Tambari, the Chief Compliance Officer at PiCNG, represented Ahmed.
He said that the initiative raised 2 billion dollars in private-sector investment in the CNG subsector in just 2 years, while targeting 5 billion dollars in investment in 2027.
“As of 2023, when this programme started, the CNG sector was virtually non-existent.
It was not attracting any serious investment from any quarters. Today, as I speak, we have attracted over 1.8 billion dollars in investments.
“We have rounded up to two billion dollars of private sector investment in the CNG subsector in just two years,” he said.
He said the event further reinforced the growing investment in the CNG space, adding that the target for 2027 is a modest $5 billion.
“I believe by 2027, we should be looking at double-digit investment numbers in the CNG sector, looking at the interest that the private sector is showing in the CNG ecosystem. Then jobs created,” he said.
Ahmed said that the sector had also attracted over 80,000 direct jobs, adding that indirect jobs typically occurred at a ratio of 1:4.
According to him, the target for 2027 is 300,000 direct jobs.
“We are already at 80,000 direct jobs. Again, we are reasonably confident we will meet and exceed this target,” he said.
He recalled that President Bola Tinubu unveiled the CNG programme in 2023 as a critical component of Nigeria’s energy mix, adding that there were only seven conversion centres in the country at the time.
“Today, we are looking at 369, and the number is growing almost daily.
“The target for 2027 is 3,000 conversion centres.
“But if you look at what we have achieved, and then we are now growing in geometric and hopefully in exponential progression, by 2027 we will exceed this number,” he said.
At refuelling stations, he explained that there were only 20 CNG refuelling stations in Nigeria in 2023.
Currently, there are over 68 licensed and over 150 under construction at various stages of completion.
“The target for 2027 is around 2,000 to 2,500 retail outlets,” he said.
