Belarus seeks to take part in Russia's program to renew public transport fleet

On 17 August Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the Presidium of the State Council. According to him, the public transport fleet renewal is one of Russia's most important tasks. Vladimir Putin told the government to step up efforts in this field in all regions of the country and to find sources and mechanisms to fund the program.

“It so happened that the following day we had a very productive meeting with the minister of transport of Russia. This ministry is an umbrella organization for this program: it studies and accumulates the needs. In line with the president's instruction, 60,000 buses, 5,000 trolleybuses and 4,000 trams are needed to renew public transport fleet in small and medium-sized towns (they are the major recipients of new public transport vehicles) plus, of course, cities with a population of one million. The Ministry of Transport of Russia is collecting information about the needs for public transport and about capacities of Russian manufacturers, yet the minister [Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev] promised us in very clear terms that Belarus would also be able to get in on the act,” said Dmitry Krutoi.

“We are neither dominant suppliers nor competitors in any segment. As far as our capabilities are concerned, we can currently supply approximately 10-15% of this volume as part of the program. We will definitely keep our finger on the pulse and take an active part in it,” the ambassador emphasized.

He added that there are plans to purchase electric buses for Russian cities under a separate program. “In any case, we will promote and offer MAZ and Belkommunmash products for various cities depending of their needs,” Dmitry Krutoi assured.