Prasarana Malaysia Bhd has signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysian Rubber Board (LGM).
This will allow the transportation compay to use Ekoprena tyres on its RapidKL buses.
Prasarana chairman Tan Sri Ismail Adam said the move emphasised the importance the company placed on green technology.
“These retreaded tyres are not just high in quality but they are also environmentally-friendly because they are produced with green technology.
“The tyres are of the same level of quality as regular new tyres, if not better, and they are also cheaper and more fuel efficient,” he said at Rapid KL Bus Complex in Cheras Selatan today.
Ismail said Prasarana could decide to use Ekoprena tyres on all its buses after the project ended in 2017.
RapidBus Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Zulkifli Mohd Yusoff said the Ekoprena tyre project had three phases.
“Ekoprena tyres will be used on the buses of six regional routes within Klang Valley. In the first phase, we will use these tyres on 10 buses, the second, on 30 buses, and the final phase, on 80 buses,” he said.
The RM1.7 million research project is funded by the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry through the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu).
Eight hundred Ekoprena types will be used in the project.
LGM chairman Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah said Ekoprena tyres were developed years ago and were first tested commercially in Japan in 2007.
“We supplied the tyres for a fleet of buses for the London Olympics in 2012, so we know the quality of our tyres,” he said.
Wira said Ekoprena tyres were made for heavy commercial vehicles, the smallest of which were the four-wheel drive.
“We also plan on working with other GLCs (government-linked companies) such as Felda (Federal Land Development Authority) to supply Ekoprena tyres,” he said.
“Research in Ekoprena rubber for tyres has long been conducted by LGM and the Tun Razak Research Centre in the United Kingdom.
“Our research found that the use of Ekoprena in the tyre tread compound resulted in a low rolling resistance and a high wet grip saved energy while increasing safety,” he said.
Wira said the rubber tyres would only be sold and marketed commercially after the completion of the RapidKL project in 2017.
“We have the tests done primarily in Europe and now we would like to get accurate technical data from the tests on RapidKL buses here.
“The tyres will be fitted onto the buses’ back wheels as they take most of the bus and passengers’ weight. This will accurately demonstrate the durability of the tyres,” he said.
Wira said with the rise in demand for rubber, LGM would gradually increase the export capacity of Ekoprena rubber to meet Malaysia’s rubber exportation target of 300,000 tonnes a year by 2020.
The Commercialising Ekoprena and Pureprena Entry Point Project 4 comes under the National Key Economic Area (NKEA) project.
“The projects under NKEA are targeted to contribute to the increase of the gross national income from US$10,000 (RM40,930) to US$15,000 (RM61,395),” Wira said