Islamabad to get over 3 dozen electric buses soon with local production expected to begin in 2021
Pakistan will receive a batch of 38 electric buses that will run in Islamabad as the government looks to move the public transport towards cleaner energy and a lesser carbon footprint. Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhary inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the CEO of a European Electric Bus Manufacturing Company EGV.
The company intends to invest $4 billion in a plant to manufacture electric buses in Pakistan. This is the second deal of its kind in Pakistan as previously, Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service joined forces with Skywell Automobile, a Chinese automaker, to introduce electric buses in Pakistan.
Electric buses for public transport
Chaudhry said that in the first phase, electric buses will run in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad. He said 40% of public transport buses would be shifted to electricity in 10 years. He also added that 120 buses will be imported and local production will begin in 2021. These buses can help in significantly reducing the pollution across the major cities in Pakistan.
Electric train to Murree
The minister also revealed that the next major project for the government is to set up an electric rail system between the Islamabad airport and popular hill destination Murree. Chaudhary said that the project can be a game changer for the tourism in the area. Murree is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Even though, it has a capacity to handle a few thousand vehicles, every major holiday the hill town is flooded with tens of thousands of cars, causing major road blocks. The electric train can certainly lessen that burden without damaging the environment.
Pushing forward with electric vehicles
The government has decided to install electric charging stations in different rest areas of the motorway. Chaudhary suggested that an obvious increase in the number of these stations will become obvious in coming months.