Daewoo minibuses from Htauk Kyant factory in Yangon will locally be manufactured to help improve transport efficiency and ease congestion, according to the firm’s executive director U Kyaw Kyaw Aung

16 Jun 2017

Myanmar Trade Center Co will roll out locally manufactured Daewoo minibuses from its Htauk Kyant factory in Yangon by the end of this year, said the firm’s executive director U Kyaw Kyaw Aung, in a bid to help improve transport efficiency and ease congestion.

U Kyaw Kyaw Aung added by 2018 the company will be producing city buses, which are aimed not only for the local market but also for export purposes.

 The city buses and the minibuses will be powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel engines, he said, adding that the company has already signed an agreement with the Ministry of Industry on May 30.

“We signed a partnership agreement for this factory with Ministry of Industry. We make the investment for production of the buses while the ministry will help us in marketing.

“Daewoo is also our partner, and will provide the machinery, technical assistance and management,” said U Kyaw Kyaw Aung.

“We have started constructing and preparing the factory. We intended to produce two models but we will produce the minibuses first.

“We can start production of the city buses in mid-2018,” he added.

Myanmar Trade Center will build the 35 service centres for Daewoo buses, U Kyaw Kyaw Aung said.

“We can extend production depending on the market demand. For example, a minibus can be used as a school bus, ferry or shuttle bus.

“For city buses, they can be used for intercity or inner-city transport as well as for highway express routes. So we will produce the vehicles depending on market demand,” he explained.

The Daewoo buses produced in-factory would also be sold to other countries. Thus, it would make the country a vehicle exporter.

U Kyaw Kyaw Aung said the minibus, which could be used as a school bus, could help in reducing congestion in the city.

“At present, what we have is a one-child, one-car system, which ramps up the traffic,” he said.

U Kyaw Kyaw Aung signed the agreement with the Ministry of Industry for the factory, through his company Myanmar Trade Center, which mostly imports coaches and minibuses. 

“Many car-makers have expressed their interest in building factories in Myanmar, but are unsure if they can meet their targets.

“But Daewoo intends to distribute not only in Myanmar but also in the international market,” he said

“Domestic demand is not great. It would not be profitable for some companies to make cars only for the local market.

“But Daewoo’s strategy is to build factories in many countries and limit the models produced to only two to encourage imports. So we can supply not only the domestic market, but also the international market,” he added.

Currently, Myanmar Coach Centre is an official distributor of Daewoo buses in the country and has imported a total of 15 Daewoo city buses for use on the BRT (Bus Rapid Transport) system since August 1 last year.

 

(The Myanmar Times: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/26418-local-daewoo-bus-production-for-export.html )