The Federal Government has set aside N15bn as loan for operators of mass transit buses in the country to encourage them to patronise locally-made buses.
Vice President Namadi Sambo disclosed this on Thursday while presiding over a meeting of the Special Committee on National Mass Transit Framework at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Sambo said the loan, which would be accessed from the Infrastructure Bank, would be at zero per cent interest rate.
He said, “Access to cheap financing is important to encourage local manufacturing of mass transit buses. There is zero per cent interest rate money for the transporters to access, but only to buy from local manufacturers.”
Sambo directed the Ministry of Trade and Investment to meet with local automobile manufacturers to ascertain their true production capacity and readiness to meet the demands of the operators.
He said the fund would also be extended to mass transit services in the country’s waterways and the railways.
The vice president promised that he would also discuss the need to encourage local producers of buses with the 36 state governors during the next National Economic Council meeting.