(APS) – The Minister of Infrastructure and Land and Air Transport El Hadji Malick Ndiaye symbolically handed over, Thursday, in Thiès, the keys to 500 new gas taxis to the collective of GIEs of taxi drivers approved at Blaise Diagne International Airport of Diass.
Four hundred and sixty-three of these 500 taxis were financed by the automobile manufacturer Iran Khodro (IKCO), parent company of the Senegalese-Iranian car assembly plant Seniran Auto SA, based in Thiès. The other 37 were financed by the DER/FJ.
This ceremony also marked the relaunch of car production by the Seniran Auto factory, located in the ZAC of Thiès.
Alongside Ibrahima Thiam, Secretary of State for SME/SMI Development, Malick Ndiaye cut the ribbon of this chain of vehicles, in the presence of the Iranian Ambassador to Senegal Hassan Asgari and the CEO of IKCO Hesham Yekke Zareh.
Costing 8.4 million CFA francs, these vehicles are payable over 36 months. A price deemed “affordable” by the president of the GIE collective of taxi operators, Modou Fall Samb.
The minister in charge of transport said he was “impatient” to see these cars put into service and the old models scrapped.
For Malick Ndiaye, this project reflects “the dynamism and progress noted in the modernization of the public transport fleet”.
It is inspired by the instructions of the President of the Republic for the establishment of quality transport systems and competitive costs.
“The current context of road insecurity calls for the acceleration of the vehicle fleet renewal program,” he said.
According to him, the government aims to “amplify the direct contribution of transport services to economic and social performance”.
Modou Fall Samb, president of the collective of taxi operators’ GIEs, welcomed the approval enjoyed by the twenty GIEs he manages, to operate at the AIBD.
He also welcomed the vehicle fleet renewal program, while requesting a meeting with the minister, to inform him of the difficulties they are facing.
“By investing in this fleet of new taxis, noted Malick Ndiaye, we are strengthening our commitment to the quality of transport service for our citizens.”
These modern vehicles are equipped with the latest technologies to ensure the safety and comfort of users while respecting environmental standards, he said.
The new taxis are hybrid. They can run on gas and gasoline.
According to IKCO CEO Hesham Zareh, his company is “ready to definitively resolve the problem of land transport in Senegal,” if the Senegalese authorities support it.
Iran Khodro is available to offer three types of vehicles: taxis, minibuses and interregional transport buses, he assured.
