The Minister of Steel Development, Prince Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, Thursday, met with the programme director/chief executive officer, Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (P-CNGI) Michael Oluwagbemi, with a view to setting up a CNG park within the Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
Prince Audu restated the fact that one of the paramount objectives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu under the Renewed Hope Agenda is the CNG Initiative, which is very critical following the removal of petroleum subsidy, saying it would reduce transportation costs by at least 40 percent.
A statement by the ministryโs head of press and public relations, Salamatu F Jibaniya, quoted the minister as saying the ministry is collaborating with the P-CNGI to set up a CNG park within the proposed Industrial Park in Ajaokuta to drive the CNG initiatives of Mr president.
โMr President has given a mandate that he wants a minimum of one million CNG vehicles on the road by 2027. So, there is a lot of work that needs to be done and everything that we need to partner with the federal government under the CNG initiative are available in Ajaokuta.
โOne of the things we are also doing is the industrial park where various categories of companies would be under the industrial park within Ajaokuta. So it would be one of the many components of the soon-to-be Ajaokuta Industrial Park.
โEverything to actualise the CNG initiative and conversions are available in Ajaokuta; so plugging in the CNG initiative is very viable. There is gas there, an engineering workshop is there and a tools workshop to facilitate the construction or assemblies of the kits is also there.
โMr President is indeed very excited about this initiative and the partnership between the ministry and the P-CNGI which drives the plans of industrialising Nigeria, diversifying and growing the economy and creating jobs under the renewed initiatives,โ Prince Audu said.
The minister commended Olugbemi for the excellent job he is doing in actualising the CNG initiative of Mr President.
The permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu,
lauded the initiative by commending the partnership between the ministry and P-CNGI while pledging the ministry and its teamโs support.
Olugbemi said the steel industry is an absolute necessity for the actualisation of the CNG initiative, adding that steel components are at the very heart of the project.
โThe journey with the ministry of steel development was critical from day one, and Ajaokuta is a hub with access to raw materials. We have hit the ground running already and are optimistic about excellent collaborations with the ministry,โ Olugbemi said.
The sole administrator, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited,Engr Sumaila Abdul Akaba said the project is a welcome development to Ajaokuta especially in the revival phase of the company.