The Energy Department received a no-objection letter from the Asian Development Bank to start negotiations with the winning electric tricycle supplier to help bring down the manufacturing cost.
“We have received the NOL [no objection letter] from ADB on Friday. We will start negotiations with the winning bidder on Monday,” Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos told reporters.
Marcos said the department expects to get a lower offer from lone bidder—Uzushio Electric Co. Ltd. of Japan and local partner BEMAC Electric Transportation Philippines Inc.
Uzushio and BEMAC were the only one among five interested bidders who complied with the requirements of the department to supply and deliver 3,000 e-trikes.
Marcos conceded the bidder offered a high manufacturing cost for the e-trikes, which must be negotiated.
“We want to lower the costs,” he said. Marcos did not say the amount offered by the lone bidder, but sources said it was more than P600,000 per e-trike.
Marcos said one of the options to lower the cost was to take out the five-year after service or maintenance contract term as approved by the National Economic and Development Authority.
The five-year maintenance period was included to ensure the sustainability of the e-trikes.
The department auctioned an initial supply and delivery of 3,000 e-trikes in May as part of the government’s market transformation program through the introduction of energy-efficient electric vehicles project.
The first batch of e-trikes is slated to be rolled out in the National Capital Region and Region 4 A and 4B.
Land Bank of the Philippines will serve as conduit of the Asian Development Bank that will collect and repay the multilateral lending institution for the deployment of the e-trikes.
The project, largely financed by the ADB and the Clean Technology Fund totaling $500 million, will be implemented for five years.
The project is expected to insulate stakeholders from the price volatility of imported petroleum products.
The project aims to deploy 100,000 e-trikes nationwide to replace the same number of traditional gasoline-fed tricycles, reduce the transport sector’s annual petroleum consumption by 2.8 percent (equivalent to 89.2 million liters) per year and achieve 79 percent carbon dioxide foot print avoidance.
Each e-trike unit features a 3-kWh lithium-ion rechargeable battery, can negotiate flat and uphill terrain abd comfortably seat up to five passengers.
The vehicle’s entrance is located on the pedestrian side of the vehicle for safety.
E-trikes require less maintenance and are designed for easy driving, maneuverability and passenger comfort. They also produce no noise and less vibration than conventional tricycles.