As part of the Cote d’Ivoire’s commitment to honouring the Paris COP 21 agreement, the Ivorian Minister of Transport, Mr Amadou Koné, and several government Ministers gathered to launch a ground breaking initiative which is aimed at reducing carbon emission levels.

Koné unveiled a fleet of buses commissioned by the Société des Transports Abidjanais (SOTRA), supplied by IVECO and fuelled by compressed natural gas. ENGIE and Tractebel collaborated to engineer, supply and install the first ever compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling station in Abidjan.

The CNG fuelling station will facilitate the operation of the new range of compressed natural gas buses. The gas fuelling station when fully commissioned, will have a compression capacity of 1360 m³/h, and will be split into two units, each equipped with two hoses, allowing four buses to charge simultaneouly.

ENGIE and Tractebel have a unique level of expertise and a local presence that was vital to the successful launch of the venture. They are specialists in delivering infrastructures which provide alternative fuels for green mobility solutions. The move is seen as  the first step in the Ivorian government and public transportation companies plan to increase the number of CNG buses and ensure that the region is working towards fulfilling its commitment to the COP 21 agreement.

 It will also serve as a challenge for other African countries that are keen to further embrace clean technologies. Already the project’s success is being monitored by Ghana, Togo, Benin and Cameroon with the intention of replicating the project.

The particle emission levels are expected to be nearly zero, and their Nitrogen Oxide emissions will be reduced by 60 per cent. The buses will serve within Abidjan’s wider urban area.