Pakistan, UK agree on manufacturing electric buses

Minister emphasises need to assemble electrical appliances locally

ISLAMABAD:

The Ministry of Science and Technology on Monday reached an agreement with a private British automobile firm for the manufacturing of electric buses for Pakistan.

In the first phase, the British firm will manufacture electric buses for Pakistan while in the other, it will help the country in the production of vehicles locally.

The draft of agreement was signed by Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry and the British firm CEO.

Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhry noted that Pakistan had signed the first agreement for electric buses with a Chinese company while the second had been reached with a European company.

He maintained that initially the electric buses will run in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore and added that Pakistan would soon be competing with India in the electric automobile sector.

“In the next two to three years, the entire motorway network will be shifted on the charging of electric cars,” he said.

The minister pointed out that billions had been spent on the Lahore metro train project and now an annual subsidy of Rs12 billion would be given on it.

He opined that such projects should be launched where the government does not have to spend extra money.

He reiterated that the country cannot move forward unless it excels in the manufacturing of electrical appliances.

The British automobile firm CEO admired the Pakistan government’s policy on electric vehicles saying that they also wanted to contribute to the progress of the country.