HCM City to produce 300 gas-fueled buses

HCMC is studying to manufacture 300 buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG) to replace diesel-fueled buses which have now been degraded.

Pham Quoc Tai, deputy general director of Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (Samco), told the Daily on Monday that the corporation had been entrusted to research and manufacture such vehicles.

Currently, the manufacture of CNG buses is quite new, and thus the domestic production of this kind of bus will take a long time.

“Samco is formulating a detailed scheme to submit to the HCMC’s government next month,” Tai said.

The import of auto spare parts and components which will then be manufactured domestically will help save costs compared to the import of completely-built-up buses, he added.

HCMC is now having 28 CNG buses running on four routes, and all these buses are completely-built-up ones and imported with a high price of over VND2.4 billion per unit. The city has targeted to operate 350 CNG buses in 2015.

According to the HCMC Department of Transport, the pilot operation of CNG buses has showed many advantages such as smooth operation, no black smoke and less harmful exhausts emitted. The exhaust volume released and the fuel consumption of CNG buses has declined by up to 53% and 30-45% respectively compared to diesel-fueled buses.