The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has partnered with Rolling Energy to convert 100,000 vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) within 18 months, an initiative aimed at reducing costs for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and supporting Nigeria’s transition to cleaner energy.
SMEDAN’s Director-General, Dr. Charles Odii, disclosed this on Friday while speaking at the unveiling of a CNG Conversion and Training Centre in Abuja. He described the project as a strategic move to help SMEs adapt to changing energy needs.
According to Odii, the mandate of the Presidential CNG Initiative (Pi-CNG) is to roll out about one million converted cars in the next 18 months.
“We at SMEDAN are committing to taking 10% of those cars to be converted at our centres,’’ he said.
Odii noted that the project aligned with SMEDAN’s GROW Nigerian strategy, which focuses on providing SMEs with Guidance, Resources, Opportunities, and Workforce Support.
“By adopting CNG, we are helping SMEs cut costs while promoting sustainable energy practices. This effort is particularly timely as businesses face rising fuel costs following subsidy removal,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Executive Vice Chairman of the Presidential CNG Initiative, Mr. Toyin Zubair, lauded SMEDAN and its partners for leveraging Nigeria’s vast natural gas reserves to promote economic growth.
“Nigeria has one of the largest gas reserves globally. Using this resource locally to power vehicles and industries will not only reduce costs but also create a cleaner environment,” Zubair said.
“With less than N4,000, a vehicle can be fully fueled with CNG, compared to over N60,000 for petrol. This provides significant relief for businesses,” Danbatta explained.
The Nigerian government has been pending heavily on CNG initiatives in recent times to encourage the embrace of the alternative to premium motor spirit, popularly known as petrol.
By this December, the initiative said the total investment has surged to over $450 million, according to the latest figures provided by Michael Oluwagbemi, the CEO of PCNGi.