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ADB offers $280-million loan for e-bikes


The Asian Development Bank is offering as much as $280 million in loans for the Philippine government to finance a proposed re-fleeting program for tricycle drivers and operators shifting to electric motorbikes or e-bikes. “The loan will be coursed through ADB conduit banks like Land Bank of the Philippines for re-lending to tricycle drivers who may want to shift into using e-bikes," Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje told reporters in a briefing Tuesday. He said ADB will give 30 e-bikes as donation to city governments in the Metropolis. “ADB wants to us to sample the bikes to see for ourselves that these machines are totally pollution-free. No emissions, less pollution," he said. If all Philippine tricycles are e-bikes, the country can save much as 20 million metric tons of carbon footprints a year. “We could go into carbon trading. That will earn us dollar equivalent which we can use to offset a portion of the loan," said Paje. Tricycle drivers can save up to P300 in daily fuel costs with the use of e-bikes. “Four hours of charging would only cost P40 compared to P340 for fossil-based fuels. The acquisition cost is about 20 to 30 percent higher than fuel-fired motorcycles but the overhead cost is certainly lower," Paje said. Of the total 5 million tricycles in the country, 2.8 million are in Manila. The department said that the shift to e-bikes would reduce pollution 25 percent to 30 percent in the country’s urban centers by 2011. As of 2009, the country's total suspended particulates - a concentration of micro pollutants in the air - in all cities and urban centers is 134 micrograms per normal cubic meters, which is 48 percent beyond the normal standard of 90 micrograms per normal cubic meters. The major sources of these particulates are diesel vehicles and coal-burning power plants. Dust from unpaved roads and construction activities contribute to the rise in particulates especially during summer months. Vehicles contribute as much as 80 percent to air pollution, while the remaining 20 percent are from industries. Department monitoring shows that more than 50 percent of vehicles are registered without prior actual testing by accredited Private Emission Testing Centers. “If all vehicles are tested for emission prior to registration, the 30 percent reduction in particulates will be easily realized," Paje said. —With MR Gavin/VS, GMANews.TV