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The ban on vehicle imports is scheduled to be lifted from August. According to Stobs-rgyas, it is necessary to see photos of Bhutan’s road infrastructure and traffic congestion.
“The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport has surveyed the number of vehicles in Thimphu and submitted a report to the Cabinet, but a comprehensive analysis is needed,” the Prime Minister said in a press conference on July 26.
The Prime Minister said a comprehensive analysis was needed on issues such as road capacity and fuel, as well as the effectiveness of public transport.
The Prime Minister said the government has a good plan, especially to increase the number of vehicles in Thimphu and if the import of vehicles is restricted without considering the infrastructure of the city, it will cause inconvenience. Go for it.
He said Thimphu residents were not barred from importing vehicles, but they were not exempt and it was important to check carefully before shipment.
He said that out of a total of 127,000 vehicles, 60,000 were in Thimphu, and especially at the end of the day, “this will affect the delivery of services”.
He said the population to car ratio in the country is one car for every five people and if there is no proper planning to reduce the import of vehicles, then there will be one car for every two people.
The Prime Minister said the assessment was important because the increase in vehicle imports and the associated challenges and vehicle congestion once exempted, “will be problematic,” he said.
The Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the National Assembly are jointly taking steps to ensure uninterrupted traffic and vehicle management. The Bhutan Police and the Thimphu Municipality are also working on this.
Additionally, vehicle import restrictions also apply to excess transport credits, and due to falling reserves, the government has banned vehicle imports from August 2022.
As of February this year, the total loans stood at Rs 7.68 trillion.
Bhutan has a foreign exchange reserve of 5 trillion rupees every year due to the ban on car imports.
In 2022, Bhutan’s automobile imports amounted to Rs926.09 million, a year-on-year decrease of 71%.
While in 2021, the value of imported vehicles was US$4.72 billion, of which passenger vehicles included passenger cars, buses, freight trucks and motorcycles.
According to the monthly report of the National Finance Bureau, in May this year, the country’s foreign exchange reserves increased by 10% year-on-year, with an increase of US$549.08 million in foreign exchange reserves.
Ugyen Dorje
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