Oyo State Pacesetter Transport Service (PTS) has begun constructing a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) station, aligning with Governor Seyi Makinde’s initiative to enhance energy security and reduce fuel costs.
During an inspection of ongoing renovations and construction projects at PTS on Thursday, the Sole Administrator, Hon. Dikko Salami revealed plans to increase the number of CNG buses to 60 in few months to cover other states.
Salami highlighted that CNG is significantly cheaper than traditional fuels, offering substantial savings for vehicle owners and businesses. He emphasized PTS’s goal of self-sufficiency, expanding revenue streams, and reducing dependence on state government funding.
According to Dikko, this CNG station, a 20-year public-private partnership, aims to be completed by year-end, with operations starting early next year.
He said PTS currently has 30 CNG buses and plans to commercialize CNG conversion services, catering to the growing demand.
Salami noted that PTS aims to be a game-changer in the market, attracting customers and reducing wait times.
He reiterated that his plan is to make Oyo PTS self-sufficient, adding that his plan is to expand revenue stream to cover more on its own and not depend on the state government.
He said: “Oyo State Pacesetter Transport Service, under my leadership is partnering with Atlas Core Energy and Logistics Limited. And the CEO is Dr. Emmanuel Owoade. He is based in UK, and he has been doing business for, 25 years from now.
“What led us into partnering together is, most of our commuters are complaining that they have to carry them to the gas stations in Lagos to buy gas, and whereas, those commuters will keep waiting, and they have to follow the queue after 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, before they can now be on their way to Ibadan. That kind of delay is affecting their timing.
“So, mainly because our buses move by time. We have 7 a.m., 3 p.m., we have 10a.m.m trips. We have 1 p.m., we have 4 p.m. So, most times, 1 p.m. trip turns out to be ready for 5 p.m because, at some point, they might have to queue for more hours at the gas station.
“And number two is, we are now getting more buses on CNG. Currently, there are 30 CNG buses in the company. We are planning to expand to 60 CNG buses before the end of the year. Now, how do I put 60 CNG buses on the road and yet there is no solution to provide them with gas?
“So, the best bet for that kind of thing is to have a CNG gas station in our yard. And last year, we were planning to convert these mass transit buses but I realise that the price for one is now getting a bit expensive, because of the dollar rates, the conversion and all that.
“So, we plan that if we bring in a conversion centre inside our yard as well, we can start to take them phase by phase and be converting them with.
“For example, we can take five buses for one month and say, okay, let’s convert. We will spend maybe a 20Million on that.
“Also, we have realised that conversion is what everybody’s doing now. And we felt how do we bring in the market to bring more money to us? We can do this by converting for people — people in the private sector.
“So, our plan also is to commercialise this thing. We have bankers who are using petrol-dependent vehicles. Big companies are using petrol-dependent vehicles. We can be a solution to that sector. We can write a proposal to them, bring your cars in phases. We’ll convert them for you. Send your vehicles to us and we will send gas to them.
“My own plan is to set up a self-sufficient PTS So that we don’t have to be depend on state government. We don’t have to even buy spare parts, to buy anything. We don’t have to depend on anybody.
“We are paying salaries at our own home. A lot of things we are doing on our own. So, for me, all I want is to expand that revenue stream so that, at least, Pacesetter can cover more on its own, without depending on the state government to even buy spare parts for us. So, that is why we have to commercialise the combustion centre and the gas station centre.
“If we are selling gas to the public, that means people that go to BOVAS, NIPCO, they have to come back to us. There are a lot of queues out there.
“Trailers will park there for more than hours to get gas. So, the moment we can be a game-changer in the system, in the market, the influx will start coming here. And that influx means that if I can grow their base to 200 million Naira per month, multiply 200million per month, times 30 per cent of that money will come to Pacesetter, you can see it is a big money.
“The project would be extended to outsider. Private people, anybody.
“We have commenced the construction of the gas station. We are hoping that everything should be done before the end of 2025. And we are planning to kickstart operation in January, 2026. And it will start for 20 years. And that kind of partnership is 70-30 per cent sharing formula. 70 percent goes to the company that established the whole thing, that funded the whole project, and 30 per cent to the Oyo State Pacesetter.
“The funding for the entire project is 600million, but it is fully funded by the contractor. So, the whole project is for 20 years.
“There is no any government that wants to succeed that would not definitely look at the private sector. Imagine our roads now. Trailer would have to come in, different cars would have to move in because they want to get gas. Part of the continuous CSR is the maintenance of that road. PTS have been able to cover the streetlight project, and other things for them.
“This project is the first of its kind in this company. That is one of the advantages for us. We are having 30 CNG buses in our yard presently. They have to queue on the road to get gas. The good advantage to us now is having that gas station in our yard, in our domain. It will be a big, advantage to us.
“And if we are looking at the economic benefit, we can convert for people. They can also get their gas from us.That means civil servants, bankers, a lot of people in the private sector, individuals can come get the gas filled here.
“We don’t have to go through buying petrol, buying diesel and all those things. They can come and get gas at a cheaper rate here.
“Also, it is also boosting government publicity as well because it is like we are providing a solution. And this is the first of its kind. I don’t think it has happened before in the history of Oyo State where someone is having that kind of partnership to build a CNG gas station in the state.”
WARNING: If You Are Not 18+, Don’t Click The Link Below 👇🫣
https://facultativethus.com/kx6iepv2qm?key=6c14bd1d68e1eba721851f19778f5efe
Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it.
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.
Never Miss A Single News Or Gist, Kindly Join Us On WhatsApp Channel:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vad8g81Eawdsio6INn3B
Telegram Channel:
https://t.me/gistsmateNG
