City buses to Pakistan: Scania signs an agreement on local manufacture

City buses to Pakistan: Scania signs an agreement on local manufacture Scania has signed a preliminary agreement to start local bus production in Pakistan. The deal is one result of the concerted drive by Pakistan's central planning authority to initiate a modernisation programme involving no less than 15,000 new city buses over a period of three years. Agreements will be signed with another four manufacturers in addition to Scania. The agreement covers not just assembly of bus chassis, but also responsibility for building bodies on the chassis. The agreement specifies the use of locally manufactured components wherever possible. At Scania's marketing department for Asia, Regional Manager Mikael Kyander says that the undertaking also includes responsibility for establishing a service network for the buses and training of personnel. "In addition," says Mikael Kyander, "the agreement also contains a clause stipulating that Scania is to be accompanied by at least one international bus operator with responsibility for running the necessary technology and trans- ferring the technology to Pakistani hands." The government of Pakistan has given responsibility for the programme to a separate authority - SMEDA (the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority) - within the framework of the Prime Minister's National Transport Scheme. The modernisation programme is the result of comprehensive studies that identified shortcomings in the public-transport system as one of the country's main obstacles to economic and social development. The agreement was signed by Anders Spåre, Vice President of Scania and Khawaja Belal Ahmed, the Chairman of SMEDA. For further information, please contact Ulf Söderström, Press Manager, tel. +46 8 55381044. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,500 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1998, turnover to- talled SEK 45,300 million and income after financial items SEK 3,200 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and approxi- mately 96 percent of total production is sold outside Sweden. Bus manufacture takes place in Sweden, Brazil, Denmark and Poland. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/09/30/19990930BIT00170/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/09/30/19990930BIT00170/bit0002.pdf