In just a couple of years, Alaro City, a 2,000-hectare mixed-income, city-scale development, in Lagos, has seen rapid development as a result of good infrastructure provision and also for its location in the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ).
These two reasons are the major attractions for over 30 companies that have taken position in the city, including Starium FZE, a subsidiary of BUA Group; Mantrac Caterpillar, HMD and Ariel Foods FZE, the largest and most technically advanced ready-to-eat therapeutic foods producer in Africa.
The latest addition to the list is Rungas Group which, in partnership with Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), is building a facility for the manufacturing of Liquefied Natural Gas (LPG) cylinders. The ground breaking to start construction work on the facility was done recently.
“We identified Alaro City as the perfect place for our second LPG manufacturing facility in Nigeria because of the unique nature of the city’s master-plan and the speed with which infrastructure is being rolled out in the new city,” Lanre Runsewe, CEO, Rungas Group, explained.
“As we make progress on our goal of increasing the use of LPG in Nigeria and Africa, such partnerships with business-friendly locations as Alaro City are critical,” he said, explaining further that the project was in line with the federal government’s policy aspirations for the gas sector.
The project also aligns with the 2019-2023 priority project deliverables of the ministry of petroleum resources in relation to clusters for gas resource, rapid growth of the LPG market, development of supporting LPG infrastructure, investment and domestic growth.
Runsewe reasoned that their new facility in Alaro City which is located within a Free Trade Zone, would not only boost their local capacity for LPG cylinders but also further position Nigeria as a powerhouse within the continent.
The new facility will be developed through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) known as Rungas Alfa FZE with an annual capacity of 800,000 Type 3 Composite Cylinders to add to the firm’s expanding portfolio.
It also adds to the existing SPV between Rungas and NCDMB and will raise local manufacturing of LPG composite cylinders to 1.2 million per annum, and strategically position Nigeria as a continental hub for the supply of composite cylinders.
Rungas and NCDMB, last year, broke ground for LPG composite cylinder manufacturing plant in Polaku, Bayelsa State, known as ‘Rungas Prime Industries’. The plant has a projected annual capacity of 400,000 cylinders per annum.
Before the Beyelsa plant, Rungas had partnered with the Egyptian government to produce and assist with the distribution of LPG and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cylinders in Egypt. The factory, located in the Egyptian Gas Industrial Park, will produce 200,000 LPG cylinders for domestic use and 130,000 CNG cylinders for automobiles.
While saluting the promoters of Alaro City for building world class infrastructure for businesses to thrive, Timpreye Silva, minister of state for petroleum, who was guest of honour at the event, also welcomed the new gas facility.
He described it as the latest investment in deepening LPG infrastructure and its contribution to the stimulation of investment opportunities and national economic development.
Stephen Jennings, Founder and CEO of Rendeavour, shared the minister’s view, noting that Rungas joined over 35 Nigerian and multinational companies operational, designing or building their facilities in the new city.
“We are proud of this partnership with Rungas and how it once again illustrates the role our cities play in catalysing their host countries’ economies via investment, manufacturing and trade; the growth of an eco-friendly Nigerian domestic gas market is positive locally and globally,” he said.
Ayo Gbeleyi, Chairman of Alaro City, stressed that Rungas Group, through the groundbreaking, joined the ranks of visionary Alaro City Free Zone entities, adding that together with their partners, NCDMB, they were taking another giant step into actualizing the federal government’s vision of making this decade ‘the Decade of Gas’ and turning Nigeria into a continental hub for the supply of composite cylinders.
