FG Launches SPROUT Initiative To Cut Transport Costs In BUK

The Federal Government has launched an initiative to reduce transportation costs in Bayero University, Kano through the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses and tricycles.
The initiative, known as Project Special Palliative Relief of University Transportation (SPROUT), was unveiled during a CNG awareness campaign at the university.
The Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles is implementing the programme in partnership with FEMADEC Energy and the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund.
Speaking on behalf of the executive chairman of PiCNG and EV, Ismaeel Ahmed, Louisa Afu said the initiative was designed to make transportation within and around university campuses more affordable and accessible.

She said rising transport fares had increased the financial burden on students and university staff, making affordable mobility increasingly important to university communities.

According to her, Project SPROUT will involve the establishment of CNG refuelling stations and vehicle conversion centres, alongside the phased deployment of CNG-powered buses and tricycles in participating institutions.

“Today, we are not just here to talk about clean mobility but, most importantly, bringing affordable transportation closer to you,” Afu said.

She said free CNG bus rides were provided for BUK students during the campaign to familiarise them with the technology and demonstrate its benefits.

Afu urged the students to become ambassadors of the initiative, noting that public acceptance would be critical to its success.

Also speaking, the Project Coordinator of MDGIF-PiCNG projects at FEMADEC Energy, Ovoke Obire, said his organisation was supervising the construction of CNG stations and vehicle conversion centres across the country.

He explained that MDGIF was funding the construction of the facilities, while PiCNG was providing buses and tricycles for transportation services in participating universities.

Obire added that subsidised CNG conversion kits would be made available to university staff, with up to 1,200 kits expected for each participating institution.

The Dean of Student Affairs at BUK, Mukhtar Ibrahim Bunza, commended the initiative, saying it would help ease the financial burden on students by improving access to affordable transportation on campus.