Zimbabwe assembles 120-passenger bus amid public transport challenges
Zimbabwe has locally manufactured a bus that can carry 120 passengers to combat the public transport challenges in the country.
The prototype bus, developed by local Zimbabwean manufacturing firm AVM Africa (PVT) Ltd can transport 20 seated passengers and 100 standing passengers, according to local media the Herald.
Managing director of AVM Jacob Zvainairo Kupa at the exhibition of the 120-passenger bus on January 4 told reporters that one bus can be constructed in 22 days.
“In terms of production, it will take us 22 days to produce one bus, and we are looking forward to producing more this year alone,” he said.
The Zimbabwean Minister of Industry and Commerce Sithembiso Nyoni present at the exhibition also said that the goal of the Zimbabwean government is to reduce the importation of goods while increasing local production.
“The Government would love to see every sector of the economy grow including transport, so that we don’t need to import buses,” Nyoni said.
“It is amazing that Zimbabwe is still importing things that it can make and as a ministry, we are saying step by step we must stop importing things we can make ourselves and buses are part of that and today we are seeing a prototype of what we can do,” she added.
In 2022 Zimbabwe reportedly spent $100 million a month on fuel imports as a result of the lack of a public transport system since the COVID-19 outbreak, local media News Day reported.
Major cities in the Southern African nation became congested as a result of the lack of a traditional public transportation system, which encouraged the rise of the unofficial public transportation sector and increased usage of private vehicles, the New Zimbabwe reported.
