KATHMANDU, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- A number of Chinese companies have shown interest as the Nepali government has decided to procure 300 electric buses for public transport.The Nepali government plans to use fully electric battery operated buses for the public transport in the capital Kathmandu Valley and other major cities. It sought technical specifications from the manufacturers and suppliers in June about the electric buses they could supply.
According to Nepal's Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport which is responsible for purchasing the electrical buses, over 80 percent of those who submitted the details were either Chinese manufacturers or their suppliers in Nepal.
A total 41 electric bus manufacturers or their agents have submitted the details. Of them, 34 were Chinese manufacturers or suppliers. Among the remaining firms, five manufacturers were from India, one from Australia and one from Malaysia, according to the ministry.
"As China is marching ahead in electric vehicles, it is natural that we see a large number of Chinese companies showing interest in supplying electric vehicles," Shankar Singh Dhami, under secretary at the transport management section at the ministry, told Xinhua on Thursday.
"We will use the specifications submitted by the electric bus manufacturers to prepare bid documents and estimate costs and components to be included in the electric buses," said Dhami.
The Environment-friendly Vehicle and Transport Policy-2014 introduced by the Nepali government has aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector and increase the share of electric vehicles by up to 20 percent by 2020.
Although the country has now insignificant number of electric vehicles plying on the road, the government plans to promote the use of electric vehicles, particularly for mass transportation as the Himalayan country expects to produce surplus energy from the hydropower projects under-construction and the extra power needs to be utilized.
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