The Federal Government in collaboration with a private firm, Femadec Group, will commence the deployment of compressed natural gas-powered mass transit buses in Abuja with effect from May 5.
This is part of efforts to actualise the Federal Government’s autogas policy which was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2020.
According to NAN, this development was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of Fernadec Group, Mr Fola Akinnola, during an interview on Wednesday in Lagos.
Akinnola said the mass transit scheme, which will be operated by Femadec Express, a division of the company, is starting with 20 buses manufactured by Hyundai in South Korea.
Akinnola said, “We intend to start on May 5, after the long holidays. Preparations are being put in place, drivers are being trained and also installation of the payment system in the buses is ongoing.
“We are partnering with Abuja Urban Mass Transport to ensure that we have a smooth take off.”
Akinnola explained that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses were cheaper to operate and also environmental friendly as the world was moving toward cleaner sources of energy.
He said, “Part of our business plan and strategy is to key into the Federal Government’s gas penetration scheme which includes CNG and autogas.
“There is a lot of mass transportation in the country using diesel and petrol. Apart from being environmentally hazardous, diesel has become very expensive.
“We saw this a long time ago and even without being given any contract, we decided to bring in these first 20 buses because we envisaged that this time is going to come where people will likely want to switch to gas.”
