Motoring
Coscharis to set up $55m local auto assembly plant
LAGOS – Coscharis Motors Nigeria Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Joylong automakers of China and MG brand manufacturers to set up an assembly plant in the country within the next two years.
The move is in response to the new automotive policy introduced by the Federal Government. The policy, amongst other imperatives, aims to encourage local automobile manufacture, discourage new imports and stimulate employment generation to the citizens.
Briefing newsmen at Coscharis office on Awoyaya, Lekki, Lagos, Josiah Samuel, group managing director, Coscharis Motors Limited, said the new assembly plant will assemble the Joylong range of intra and intercity commercial and passenger buses, passenger cars and pickups, including MG brands.
With the total cost of the plant put at $55 million to be sourced from a consortium of local banks, the new Chinese automobile assembly plant is expected to roll out 13,000 units annually, of vehicles, with one shift of eight hours daily. The plant hopes to increase the shift to two, with 26,000 units expected to be churned out of the plant annually when fully utilised to capacity.
Josiah Samuel told newsmen that with January 2014 and December 2015 targeted as the completion dates of the project, the assembly which will meet global industry standards will be located on 14 hectares of land located on the Lekki sprawling business district of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre.
Meanwhile, as a prelude to the final commencement of the multi billion naira project, Coscharis Motors has made presentations with the National Automotive Council (NAC) and hopes to do the same with the Ministry of Trade and Investment. The company chief said that as a company that is proactive, it will fully go into the business using the completely knocked down parts (CKD) and not the conventional semi knocked down (SKD) one and two models.
In his submission, the group managing director said, “This brief but important event is to showcase another initiative from our great organisation to create value as a key player in the automobile industry in Nigeria. I equally welcome our technical partners from China who have been with us for the past few days to tidy up and meet our other stakeholders like you.”
The idea of a CKD plan, he said, was conceived in Coscharis about three years ago, but couldn’t be realised for reasons beyond its control. With the introduction of the new automotive policy, it has become imperative to revisit it, he noted.
He stated that Coscharis has also concluded an agreement with DongFeng Design Institute Co. Ltd, a company well-known in China for its world class auto factory design and management. They will design and manage this project including general oversight, he said.
Extensive work, he disclosed, is already on-going on the project. The assembly plant design and layout is already in place, as the partners are in Nigeria to finalise discussion on the move to finalise the next phase of the project.
– BUSINESS DAY
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has ended contracts with taxi rank and terminal operators due to their failure to meet engagement terms and conditions.
Mr. Ubokutom Nyah, the Mandate Secretary of the Transportation Secretariat, FCTA, made this announcement during a meeting with managers of these terminals and taxi ranks in Abuja.
Nyah clarified that due to the operators’ failure to fulfill their engagement terms, the FCTA had to terminate their contracts.
He instructed them to transfer control of the ranks to the Administration within three months, starting from Nov. 21.
He lamented the presence of unauthorized motor parks in the city and assured the readiness of the Administration to establish proper taxi ranks and terminals in the capital.
He revealed that personally visiting the city’s taxi ranks, terminals, and unauthorized motor parks gave him direct insight into the poor condition of these facilities.
He emphasized that as the federal capital city, Abuja deserves better, highlighting that the poor condition of these facilities attracts various criminal elements.
He said “We must rid Abuja of all these. I have gone round the taxi ranks, and of all the places I visited, not one is worthy to be called even a village motor park.”
The Mandate Secretary stressed that the intention wasn’t punitive; rather, it aimed to revamp the sector, introduce new engagement terms, and modernize taxi ranks and terminals in the federal capital.
He also highlighted the plan to increase the number of terminals and ranks where necessary, which would positively impact the administration’s revenue.
He emphasized that this measure was part of a broader effort to eliminate illegal motor parks in Abuja and curb the associated criminal activities.
In response, Mr. Adebisi Lawal, the Operator of Jahi Taxi Rank, praised the administration’s initiative to modernize the taxi ranks and terminals.
Lawal urged the administration to prioritize current operators’ involvement in the selection of new developers for the modernization of the taxi ranks and terminals.
It was a show of power at the Ojota area of Lagos on Monday as soldiers pummeled an officer of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, (LASTMA).
Eyewitness accounts claim that the ugly scene played out around 8am, and saw about eight soldiers pounce on the yet to identified LASTMA official, while his colleagues took to their heels.
The video of the melodrama has gone viral, where the LASTMA official was appealing to the soldiers, who appeared bent on ‘teaching him a lesson’.
This onslaught comes on the back of a reported assault of a soldier at the same location by LASTMA officials last week.
It would appear that what played out today was the army asserting its authority and defending their khaki as the armed soldiers carried out what looked like a revenge mission.
Eyewitnesses further averred that the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, after the soldiers left the scene.
It was gathered that the authorities at LASTMA has reported the incident to the military authorities who are said to be looking into the matter.
Meanwhile many members of the public are rejoicing that the soldiers have taught the crude LASTMA official that power is stronger than power, for all their atrocities against motorists on Lagos roads.
The impact of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, has seen the pump prices of the product skyrocket with a corresponding increase in the cost commercial transportation in Nigeria.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), intra-city bus transportation fares across Nigerian cities, measured between May and June 2023, increased from N649.59 to N1,285.41 in June 2023.
This translates to 98 percent growth or N635.82 within the month in view.
The NBS made the data available in its Transport Fare Watch report for June 2023.
In the report, the NBS also shared the breakdown of bus journeys within the cities per drop for constant routes; bus journey intercity (state route); charges per person, amongst others.
On a year-on-year basis, the report has it that bus fares rose by 120.63 percent from N582.61 paid by commuters in June 2022.
The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N5,686.49 in June 2023 compared to N4,002.16 in May 2023 indicating an increase of 42.09 percent, month-on-month.
The report read, “The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 97.88 per cent from N649.59 in May 2023 to N1,285.41 in June 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, it rose by 120.63 per cent from N582.61 in June 2022.
“In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N5,686.49 in June 2023, indicating an increase of 42.09 on a month-on-month basis compared to N4,002.16 in May 2023.
“On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 55.25 per cent from N3,662.87 in June 2022.”
Biztellers reported that the twin forces of forex pressure and increasing price of Brent in the global market would likely see the pump prices of petrol, increased again in no distant time in Nigeria.
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