KATHMANDU- Nearly three dozen Chinese companies have shown their interest in supplying electric buses to Nepal.
According to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT), 33 out of the 41 suppliers and manufacturers who have submitted information related to their electric buses to the government are Chinese.
The list of the suppliers and manufacturers released by the Ministry last month shows that Chinese manufacturers of Yutong, BYD, Asiastar and Sunlong, among other companies, want to supply their electric buses to Nepal. Others in the list who have submitted their product information to the Ministry are electric vehicle manufacturers from India, Australia and Malaysia. Four Indian manufactures, including Ashok Leyland, are also on the list.
However, the list of the suppliers and manufacturers are only indicative of their interest in making their electric buses available in Nepal, according to officials at the Ministry.
A senior officer at the Ministry told KathmanduPati that 41 suppliers and manufacturers have submitted information of the electric vehicles that they have been manufacturing in response to the Nepali government’s request this past June to procure 300 fully electrical battery operated buses.
Earlier in June 22, the government had called on manufacturers and suppliers to provide information on electric vehicles in its technical format.
Based on the information provided by the suppliers and manufacturers, the Ministry plans on preparing the specifics needed to procure electric buses, according to the Ministry source.
The government is planning to procure 300 electric buses to operate them in the Kathmandu Valley and other major cities of the country as part of its efforts to promote environment friendly green vehicles for public transportation.
While it had earlier granted Sajha Yatayat Rs 3 billion to procure 300 electric buses, it decided in May to retrieve the money from the cooperative after it could not operate those buses in the stipulated time. The government then decided to procure the buses on its own. However, it has not finalized the modality in which the vehicles will be operated.
