FG provides N25bn evolving loan for purchase of mass transit vehicle
Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enalemah, on Tuesday, disclosed that the Federal Government had provided a N25 billion revolving loan for the purchase of mass transit vehicles through the infrastructure bank at zero interest rate.
Enalemah disclosed this at a training workshop for chief executives of Mass Transit Organisation with the theme, ‘Nigeria Automotive Policy: A National Agenda for Sustainable Mass Transit Development’ in Abuja, saying government wished to develop the automotive industry because of its extensive linkages.
He said: “There is a need to ensure an affordable and safe transportation for Nigerians. Our mass transit systems are underdeveloped, and I hope this workshop would be the beginning of the development of an efficient and affordable mass transit system in Nigeria.
“The National Automotive Policy was approved by government to bring back automotive assembly operations and local content development, which will turn Nigeria into a vehicle manufacturing country.
“Government wishes to develop the automotive industry because of its extensive linkages, impact on job creation, technology acquisition, forex savings and earnings. The response by investors has been encouraging and we have brought back vehicle assembly and are now focusing on local content development.”
The minister said many of the new plants produce buses and mini-buses. I hereby call on all present to patronize the products of these assembly plants. It is my wish that this workshop will come up with ingenious strategies and innovative solutions for ensuring the development of an efficient and affordable mass transit system.
This will reduce the proportion of the income of the poor that is spent on transportation, thereby improving their livelihood. It will also reduce congestion and air pollution caused by vehicles in our cities.
In his own submission, Aminu Jalal, director-general, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), said the main objective of the automotive policy was to bring back vehicle assembly operations and develop local content, and to also get investors’ confidence.
Jalal said additional effort was made to legislate and it passed both house successfully as a package of incentives.