ISLAMABAD, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said the government was working to set out an eco-friendly roadmap for Pakistan to save its future generations from the negative effects of climate change and global warming.
“We will devise sustainable policies on environmental protection to materialize the vision of a Clean and Green Pakistan,” the prime minister said in his address at the launch of the first locally-made electric motorbike (e-bike), here at the lawns of the Prime Minister House.
The launch of e-bike was part of the government’s five-year Pakistan Electric Vehicles Policy 2020-2025 approved last year and envisaged targeting a robust electric vehicle market with a 30 percent and 90 percent share in passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks by 2030 and 2040, respectively.
PM Imran Khan said the governments of economically strong countries always worked on long-term policies, rather than those making decisions based on an election-to-election strategy to gain votes and promote mafias.
“We have to take action today to resolve the upcoming challenges,” he said, adding that deforestation and pollution were the manmade problems that were leading to horrendous effects on human lives.
He recalled that Lahore and Peshawar, once known as the Cities of Gardens, were witnessing high levels of airborne toxins which could severely affect the health of a person by reducing his average age by 11 years.
The prime minister said the government’s Electric Vehicle Policy would be export-orientated to encourage economic growth by using local raw materials in order to manufacture indigenous products.
Besides being helpful in reducing pollution, he said, the electric vehicle sector would open up an entirely new sector in the country and generate employment opportunities.
He lauded Executive Director Jolta Electric Dr Muhammad Amjad and the government’s team for promoting the “futuristic” and eco-friendly policies in the country.
Federal Minister for Industries Khusro Bakhtiar said Jolta Electric was the first to launch the initiative among three companies that were given licenses by the government to manufacture electric two-wheelers.
He expressed confidence that the sector of electric vehicles would undergo a boost in near future and mentioned that 17 more companies had shown interest in such production.
He said a regulatory framework would be outlined to manage the area of electric automobiles and the related charging infrastructure.
He said Africa, Central Asia, and Afghanistan would be the target areas for Pakistan to sell out its products in line with its auto-development and export policy.
Executive Director Jolta Electric Dr Amjad said his company would manufacture five variants of Jolta e-bikes having different speed specifications from 10 to 60 kilometers per hour.
He said the 100 percent indigenous electric bikes would help save the owner Rs 4,000 per month due to switching over to inexpensive fuel mode instead of the high-cost petrol.
The salient features of the policy include a phased transition of the automobile industry, as it will be covering two and three-wheelers and heavy commercial vehicles providing incentives to manufacturers.
Manufactured by a Pakistani company Jolta Electric, the e-bike is a major step towards electrifying the country’s automobile industry.
The e-bike, to be available in various models including JE-70, JE-70 L, JE-70 D, JE-100 L, JE-125 L, JE-Scooty, JE-Sports Bike, is energy-efficient and can be charged overnight with other features such as no clutch and gear and low maintenance.
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