South African Oil and Gas major Sasol, Mozambique’s Development Bank BNI, and the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME) signed today, in the Inhambane province, Southern Mozambique an agreement for a US$5M fund to support projects associated with Vehicular Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in Mozambique.
The Mozambique CNG fund offers special conditions for Vehicular Natural Gas projects, such as refueling stations, gas-powered public transport and, petrol to gas conversions. Corporate, SMEs and individual projects for CNG Transport Systems, Infrastructure, and Conversion Components will be eligible for finance.
The US$5 million funds were made available by SASOL and BNI bank will be the entity responsible for managing the fund through an investment committee with members from all three entities. The project is part of SASOL’s commitment to promote and support the development of the Natural Gas sector in Mozambique, through the financing of initiatives throughout the country.
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Speaking during the launch event, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, reaffirmed the Government of Mozambique’s agenda to support this initiative by contributing to the increase in gas monetization in the country and confirms Mozambique’s commitment to the process of energy transition.
For his part, Ovídio Rodolfo, VP & country manager of Sasol Mozambique, says that Natural Gas is one of the many riches of Mozambicans and its use and gradual replacement will contribute to reducing transport costs, as it is a cheaper and friendlier fuel. of the environment. On the other hand, the widespread use of CNG allows for an improvement in the balance of payments and a reduction in the level of carbon emissions.
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For BNI’s CEO Tomás Matola, “through this financing window, BNI reaffirms its strategic positioning for the implementation of the country’s development initiatives, supporting the sector in raising internal capacities to expand the distribution network of gas in the country”.
At a time when fuel has been fluctuating, the fund is expected to increase the number of vehicles powered by natural gas, especially in regards to its public transport infrastructure.
