Saeed: Signing soon an agreement with the National Corporation for Industrial Automobiles to acquire buses – Algerian Dialogue

The Minister of Transport, Al-Saeed Saeed, revealed, on Thursday in the National People’s Assembly, the signing of an agreement “soon” with the National Corporation for Industrial Vehicles, to acquire locally manufactured buses, to meet the needs of public institutions for urban transport in the various states of the country.

Mr. Saeed explained, during a public session dedicated to asking oral questions chaired by Ahsan Hani, Vice President of the Council, that “within the framework of the strategic program to take care of the needs of citizens in the field of urban transportation, the Ministry of Transport has begun the process of strengthening the base of public institutions for urban transportation with new buses that will be produced by the National Corporation for Industrial Vehicles.” .

He added that the agreement that will be signed soon with the corporation will include the production of 104 buses that will be used for public urban transportation in the states of Constantine, Oran and Annaba, provided that another quantity will be manufactured at a later stage for the benefit of the remaining states that know a shortage in this field.

According to what was reached with those in charge of this institution – Mr. Saeed adds – the process of manufacturing these buses will begin beginning next April.

However, this effort made by the public sector must be accompanied by the private sector, as it represents 95 percent of the urban transportation sector, according to the minister, who called on private individuals to assume their responsibilities in renovating the bus shelter without waiting for special benefits, especially with regard to customs exemptions.

Mr. Saeed affirmed his readiness for dialogue with representatives of the private sector, on various issues, in a way that allows ensuring quality service for the benefit of citizens, urging at the same time to move towards environmentally friendly buses (relying on clean energy).

He also pointed out that there is a future vision for developing the transportation sector, which is facing many problems, and that his department is in the process of preparing a road paper in this regard that will be presented to the government in the near future, indicating that the authorities have put in place all the necessary capabilities to achieve the set goals.

He stressed that workshops would be opened to address all the issues raised, noting that he had issued instructions to transportation directors at the state level to engage in this endeavor and improve their performance.

In the field of air and sea transport, the Minister considered that the private sector’s response to the recent legislative developments that opened the doors to investment was decent, given the weak number of applications, stressing the Ministry’s readiness to deal with “serious” investors wishing to be active in this vital field.

Speaking about Air Algerie, Mr. Saioud referred to the company’s efforts to increase domestic and foreign flights and cover requests across the entire national territory, stressing that embarking on a program to acquire 15 aircraft will allow for a significant reduction in the pressure recorded in this area.

Among the major axes that the airline company is working on as well, the Minister pointed out to reducing the rate of delays in domestic and international flights.

On another level, he stressed that a decision had been taken to strengthen the security system through the use of qualitative systems in the field of video surveillance, along with modernizing systems for inspecting and monitoring passengers and their luggage, in keeping with the international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and this at the level of all the country’s airports, in order to ensure Passenger security.

The Minister added that the dissemination of these modern systems has effectively avoided attempts to enter airports for the purpose of illegal immigration.