The Ivorian authorities put into service on Thursday 26 January the first minibuses manufactured entirely by the local assembly plant of SOTRA Industries. These forty (40) machines were handed over to transporters in Abobo and Yopougon, in the District of Abidjan. The ceremony was presided over by the Ministers of Transport, Amadou Koné, and Solidarity and the Fight against Poverty, Mrs Belmonde Dogo.
A total of 40 minibuses with 18 to 26 seats were put into service on Thursday. These are vehicles manufactured locally by the Abidjan Transport Company (SOTRA Industries) and its partner Iveco for urban transport companies. The project aims to renew the Ivorian car fleet and not only increase safe mobility in the greater Abidjan area, but also the implementation of the National Road Safety Strategy.
“This beginning of the rejuvenation of the vehicle fleet, recorded today, also contributes to the improvement of the transport offer, to the fight against environmental pollution and road insecurity, to the creation of jobs and wealth,” said Minister Amadou Koné.
He also insisted that the renewal of the vehicle fleet makes it possible to “equip the road transport sector with new vehicles, thus contributing to the fight against air pollution and road insecurity, to the reorganisation and professionalisation of the sector and to the improvement of the profitability of the transport activity”.
To the beneficiaries and actors of the transport world, Minister Amadou Koné invited them to be cautious, vigilant and civic-minded in order to save lives on our roads which killed more than 1000 people in 2022. These minibuses will start circulating in a few days after the completion of some administrative formalities, the minister announced.
