100,000 ADB-funded E-Trikes to invade PHL streets

Some 100,000 electric-powered tricycles or “E-Trikes” will soon be seen in Philippine streets, following the unveiling of an Asian Development Bank project. 

 

This will likely jump-start the e-vehicles industry in the country and significantly cut down carbon dioxide emissions.

 

Under a five-year project running up to December 2017, the Manila-based lender has made available $300 million to replace 100,000 gasoline-powered tricycles. 

 

The government, for its part, has provided a $100-million counterpart fund. 

 

“In line with the government's plan to develop a national e-vehicle industry, the project will support the establishment of an e-vehicle parts industry, battery supply chain, and charging stations, including five off-grid solar charging stations,” the ADB said. 

 

E-Trikes, which run on an electric motor and rechargeable lithium-ion battery, will also be introduced to Metro Manila and other urban centers under a lease-to-own arrangement. 

 

The electric tricycles will enable the Philippine government to save more than $100 million a year in foregone fuel imports, while decreasing annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 260,000 tons, the ADB noted.

 

“E-Trikes are a cleaner, greener transport solution for the Philippines, and provide a better quality of life for trike drivers,” Neeraj Jain, ADB’s Philippines country director, said in a statement. 

 

“This project can help transform transportation in the Philippines, and positions the country as a leader in electric vehicle development in Asia,” he added. 

 

Energy Undersecretary Loreta Ayson added, “This project will lessen the Philippines’ dependence on foreign oil imports, and by fabricating and assembling the tricycles domestically, it will create up to 10,000 jobs in the 5-year project implementation.”

 

Without intervention, the Philippines is on a course to almost quadruple CO2 emissions in less than 25 years, according to an ADB study.

 

Gasoline-fueled tricycles are responsible for more than two-thirds of all air pollution generated by the country’s entire transport sector, it added. — SOA/VS, GMA News