MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Paraguay's first 30 electric buses to be delivered this year

“We are working on the technological software,” Deputy Minister Fernández explained

The first 30 electric buses of Asunción's public network will be operational before the end of 2024, Deputy Transport Minister Emiliano Fernández announced Monday after a meeting with experts from the Taiwanese company building the vehicles. President Santiago Peña has pledged that 1,000 of these units would become available shortly.

“We are working on the initial project of 30 buses. That is underway, we want to roll the electric buses for the metropolitan area before the end of the year,” Fernández stressed.

The official also admitted that the Government was working on measures to reform the public transport system in the long run, together with temporary and quick steps to bring some relief to users, such as single lanes, which will speed up journeys, in addition to improving the many stops along the routes.

”We are working on having technological mechanisms to control operations and other short-term measures (...) We are working on the technological software of the frequencies,” explained the minister who reckoned the need for new computer systems. He also acknowledged that there was an investment in this regard which was now under comptrolling.

Taiwan is the world's second-largest manufacturer of electric buses, behind China, which has a 95% market share. Since 2011, Taiwan has subsidized 1,156 electric buses and by 2025 will subsidize another 3,000 units (US$ 287 million).

In May this year, Paraguayan authorities signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan's Master Transportation to produce electric buses for the South American country. The arrangements were made during President Santiago Peña's tour of the Island with Industry and Commerce Minister Javier Giménez, who signed on behalf of the visiting delegation. Company President Ting-Fa Wu represented the producers of the DMIT e-Bus.

The Taiwanese firm plans to establish the first manufacturing plant for electric bus chassis and fast-charging bodies in Paraguay, which is expected to generate some 2,600 job opportunities.

“This could be a new public transportation system for the Metropolitan Area of Paraguay and of course their intention to go and install an electric bus factory in our country, for Paraguay, Mercosur, and Latin American countries. This is not simply putting batteries, chassis, and tires, it is the possibility of transforming the lives of millions of Paraguayans, and I set as an objective to improve the public transportation system and that in these 4 years, we can leave a public transportation that really provides dignity and fair treatment to Paraguayans,” Paraguayan President Santiago Peña said at the time.

“We want Paraguay to be the most sustainable country in the world, to make a transition towards what is electric mobility and public transportation, it is too important a step,” Peña also pointed out.

Master Transportation's plant in Paraguay is expected to boost the country's bus replacement program and extend its production to other Southern Common Market (Mercosur) countries.