By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration ,FCTA, said it will support the activities of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) in making Abuja a green city, through the development of an environmentally friendly public transportation system.
Minister of the FCT, Malam Muhammad Bello disclosed this during a visit by the management of the NADDC led by its Director General, Jelani Aliyu to the FCTA.
The NADDC delegation was made up of top officials of the Stallion Group of Companies.
After taking a test drive in the Hyundai Kona, an electric vehicle assembled in Nigeria, Bello revealed that the long term plan of the Administration was to develop Abuja into one of the greenest cities in the country and that the use of electric vehicles as a major means of public transportation was a major part of that plan.
“The proposal brought to us by the DG fits into our long-term plan for the city. As you know, we pride ourselves in having Abuja as one of the greenest cities in the country, from the generation of vegetation and planting of trees to the concerted efforts to make sure that modern waste disposal system are entrenched”.
“So, this just takes us to the next step which is trying to improve on the transportation system in the city, particularly our bus mass transit system and what is called the last mile”. The Minister added.
In continuation, the Minister said “That is why if you noticed in many parts of the city now, we don’t allow tricycles and motorcycles to operate and gradually, we are working towards eliminating the use of diesel buses. But ultimately, my vision and the vision of my team is that really, Abuja should go electric in terms of powering the bus systems and even the motor vehicles as we have seen today”.
Speaking on the availability of the technology to enable wide use of the electric vehicles, the Minister said “this is something that requires a lot of planning and as you can see, technology for solar, solar batteries and retention of power, gradually is improving. So if we start now and imbibe it as a culture, I think it’s a matter of time and we will get there”.
While pledging the support of the FCT Administration to the NADDC in terms of the organization’s requirements for its projects either directly or through a Public Private Partnership, Malam Bello commended the NADDC DG and his team across the country and encouraged them to see Abuja as a good location for all their activities.
Speaking earlier, Mr Jelani Aliyu, the Director General of the NADDC said his team was in the FCTA to begin discussion with the Administration in good collaboration to make their contribution in making Abuja one of the most advanced and green cities in the world.
He said that the Hyundai Kona is the first ever electric vehicle assembled in Nigeria with a range of about 492 kilometers which could be charged from any electric outlet and it was in respect of the vehicle that the NDDC has developed solar charging stations in Sokoto, Lagos and Nsukka.
The visit also featured presentations from the Stallion Group of Companies on its proposed public transportation solutions.
