The government announced yesterday a new measure to encourage owners to retire their old, high-polluting diesel vehicles.
The program will provide a subsidy to retire old diesel-powered vehicles but, unlike similar subsidies, will not incentivize the acquisition of new ones to replace them, noted a dispatch from the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário in Monday’s edition of the government’s official gazette.
All vehicles (light or heavy duty) using diesel as fuel and licensed before December 31, 2002, that is, vehicles aged 20 years or older, are included in the program.
The program will run for six months, starting September 15 and ending March 15 next year.
Eligible vehicle owners may apply to the Environmental Protection and Energy Conservation Fund, which will grant subsidies according to vehicle type. To be eligible for the program, vehicle owners must concurrently apply to the Transport Bureau for the retirement of their vehicle.
For each eligible diesel vehicle being phased out, the owner can be granted an amount from MOP25,000 to MOP115,000, according to the classification and specifications of the vehicle.
The lower subsidy amount is for vehicles weighing 1.9 tons or less.
The higher subsidies are for vehicles categorized as heavy goods vehicles, weighing over 24 tons (large size trucks). They can receive the maximum subsidy of MOP115,000.
Tour and other buses with 31 or more seats can receive a subsidy of MOP85,000, while passenger vehicles with nine or fewer seats can get as much as MOP30,000.
The new subsidy is intended to remove from circulation and permanently retire those vehicles considered the most polluting.
Earlier programs, such as the retirement of scooters and motorcycles with two-stroke engines, were criticized because the subsidies sought to replace the vehicles rather than reduce the number in circulation, which was considered excessive by the same government officials on several occasions particularly during discussion over the 10-year Transport Plan 2020-2030.
