A 100-million-dollar project aims to manufacture over 5,000 diesel-powered and electric public transport vehicles for the capital. The proposed project was launched hoping to replace the ageing vehicles and improve safety, efficiency and quality across the city's urban transport system. Last week saw an MoU inked between executives of Multiverse Enterprise Plc and Addis Abeba Minibus Associations and was held at Vamdas Entertainment near Megenagna. The agreement includes plans to replace 15,000 minibuses with electric and fuel-powered vehicles within the next five years. According to executives, the Enterprise has secured enough foreign currency to import parts from King Long, a Chinese manufacturer, to be locally assembled by the Defense Engineering Industry Corporation (DEIC).   Recently, public transporters have been in the cross-hairs following transport authorities' order to undergo a transition from associations to commercial entities. The government feels strongly of the need to modernise the city's taxi feet to improve quality and efficiency while association members have voiced infrastructural and financial constraints.

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