The yellow cab scheme announced in the provincial budget 2011-12 will take at least three months to come into operation, as the Punjab government neither signed any agreement nor finalised any modality with the Suzuki Motor Company for starting production of the cabs, sources told Pakistan Today on Monday.
They said the provincial government had not done any homework to introduce the scheme and haphazardly announced the decision in the budget to get public support. The government had contacted Suzuki Motors about a month ago and since then, there had been no contact with the company for starting the production of the cabs.
The Punjab government announced to give away 20,000 yellow cabs of 800CC engine capacity to the youth, offering the choice of just two models – Mehran and Bolan.
Sources said the company also did not have enough time to meet the requirement of 20,000 vehicles in a short time and it appears the scheme would fails if work continued at the current pace.
The sources said if the government signed the agreement in July, it would take the company around two months to provide the finished vehicles to the Punjab government. “There was no proper planning behind launching the scheme and so far, the government has not asked the Suzuki Motor Company to start producing vehicles for the scheme,” a senior government official said, adding that the decision was taken at the eleventh hour, therefore, no terms and conditions had been finalised.
“It will take around a month for the government to finalise the terms and conditions of the project and then start negotiating with the company for the initiation of production,” the official said.
According to Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), Suzuki Motors manufactured 22,271 Mehran cars and 10,541 Bolan vehicles in 2009-10, while the company produced 13,239 and 9,639 Mehran and Bolan vehicles, respectively, in 2008-09.
Evident from the company’s production record is the fact that it would take at least a year to meet the demand of the Punjab government.
There is also a chance of the company facing operational problems in the open market if it focuses on delivering on the government’s order.
Suzuki Motors Pakistan spokesman Shafeeq Sheikh said the Punjab government had contacted the company a month ago, but there had been no contact since then.
He said the company had the capacity to meet the demand of the Punjab government and production would start as soon as the provincial government signs an agreement.