ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said his government was working on creating an eco-friendly roadmap to help make the transition to a green economy in order to save future generations from the threats 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 Pakistan’s first-ever locally manufactured electric motorcycle.
The launch was part of the government’s five-year Pakistan Electric Vehicles Policy 2020-2025 approved last year and envisages 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.
Imran said the governments in rich countries always designed long-term policies, instead of following election-to-election strategies to earn votes and promote “mafias”.
“We have to take action today to resolve the upcoming challenges,” he said, adding that deforestation and pollution were 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 possessed the potential to affect the health of a person by reducing their average age by as much as 11 years.
The prime minister said the 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 EVs would open up an entirely new segment in the country and generate employment opportunities.
He lauded Jolta Electric Executive Director Dr Muhammad Amjad and the team for promoting eco-friendly policies in the country.
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.
On the occasion, Minister for Industries Khusro Bakhtiar said JE 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 their charging infrastructure.
He said Africa, Central Asia and Afghanistan would be the target areas for Pakistan to sell its products in line with its auto-development and export policy.
Manufactured by Jolta Electric, the e-bike is a major step towards electrifying the domestic 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.
Various models of e-bikes have different speed specifications from 10 to 60 kilometres per hour and can cover a distance after full charge from 60 to 100 kilometres.
