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Kiira Motors-Uganda’s pioneer automakers is set to produce at least 1,030 buses 50 units of which will be electric for Tondeka BTC to be deployed for
the Mass Transit Bus Sytem Project in the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area , the two companies
announced in various tweets on their respective official twitter handles. In what is considered to be the biggest- multi-billion local partnership
that will also attract Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) technology transfer ,
financing and ICT ticketing -systems operator companies, the Companies said that preparation for the
delivery of 10 “training buses” (8 diesel and 2 electric) is underway. These will include 5 Complete Built Unit (CBU)/Fully Built Unit
(FBU) diesel buses; parts & materials for building 3 diesel and 2 electric buses;
and 2 chargers will be shipped and delivered before end
of August 2020. Kiira Motors and Tondeka executives were
tight lipped about the details of the partnership which sources said has been a work in progress since the
year began . Impeccable sources said
details about partnership which many
Ugandans have been pushing for - to
realise Mission Vehicles Made in Uganda will be “released at an appropriate time .” The companies however ,indicated that the building
of the 3 diesel and 2 electric buses will be done at KiiraMotors. “This will facilitate training
of critical mass on manufacturing and maintenance of the buses
ensuring end to end operationalization of the #KiiraVehiclePlant.” They explained that the ‘Training Buses”
will also enable validation of the Logistics Plan and Strategy for delivery of parts and materials for the
1,030 Buses. This includes packaging; handling of goods during shipment, delivery lead time, customs
clearance, road transportation among others. “The Training Buses will empower the
Operator Ecosystem through training of drivers, charging operators, stewards, supervisors, cleaners and data
collection ahead of the launch of the Mass Transit Bus System. The Training Buses will also ensure bus deployment
validation of the Ticketing and Fare Collection System (TFCS) IT
infrastructure, depots, charging infrastructure, bus stops and control center
among others. |
The muilti-million
dollar Kiira Vehicle Plant is nearing completion at the Jinja Industrial and
Business Park. With a capacity to produce 22 buses a day and an estimated 5,000
buses a year. The Kiira Vehicle Plant -the
largest in the East Central African region is at 81% completion. It is being
built by the UPDF engineering brigade under the UPDF business arm - the
National Enterprise Corporation (NEC) headed by the amiable General James
Mugira and Gen. Sabiiti Muzeyi.
