A second car manufacturing company based in Anambra State, Nigeria has joined Innoson Motors and is now producing gas-powered buses for Nigeria and, by extension, the African market.
The assembly plant located at Igbo-Ukwu in Aguata LGA produces buses branded as OMAA bus, and says its gas-powered engines will reduce engine knocks by 90%.
The first model of vehicles to roll out of the assembly line is known as the OMAA T Series bus.
The buses are uniquely designed as dual gasoline and natural gas-powered vehicles, which are more cost-effective than the more commonly used gasoline cars.
It’s uniqueness comes from being designed to also run on compressed natural gas (CNG) available in Nigeria.
Proprietor Chinedu Oguegbu said the bus can be used for passenger, school shuttle, cargo transport, ambulance, and logistics services. It can also serve as utility vehicles for businesses.
According to him, the product will “revolutionize not just the transportation industry, but the energy industry in Africa, by transforming the way we utilize the abundant energy resources available to us, namely natural gas.’’
Although he drew technicalu expatriates to produce, Oguegbu said he is relying 100 percent on local talent.
The company’s ambition, he said is to help Nigeria reduce gas flaring and drive more investments in the gas value chairn. This he reasoned, will “drive the fuel cost down, thereby leading to increased consumption.
“It also means that electricity, transportation and even food prices will go down.’’
More affordable than gasoline-only vehicles, Oguegbu said that the OMAA T Series being unveiled will reduce 30-40 percent costs for transporters.
“For most fleet operators gasoline cost is the largest operating expense. Imagine how this would translate to cost of transport or total cost of doing business across the value chain?’’
In addition, he said because gas is also cleaner, the technology will reduce engine knocks by 90 percent as well as reduce carbon emissions, and “particulate matter.”
“This means that we build healthier and more sustainable communities as we grow.”
“We are proud to showcase our completed state-of-the-art assembly plant today equipped with modern tools and passionate human capital as we strive to make a difference in producing natural gas-powered buses.”
The OMAA assembly plant is running semi knocked down (SKD) operations but will quickly scale up to completely knocked down (CKD) factory.
At the CKD stage, the company will be able to not only assemble but also localize some components as it gets set to market beyond Nigeria to the continent.
