ITS Chancellor Prof Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng IPU AEng gave his speech at the Matching Fund proposal contract event

Campus ITS, ITS News – Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) signed a Matching Fund proposal contract for the Development and Manufacture of the Red and White Electric Bus, which took place at the ITS Rectorate Building Monday (23/5). The signing of this contract is a form of contribution from ITS and the Directorate General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology for the 2022 G20 Summit Presidency activities.

The signing of this contract was attended directly by ITS Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng IPU AEng and Acting Secretary of the Directorate General of Higher Education Prof. Tjitjik Sri Tjahjandarie. Also listening to accompany were PT INKA Development Director Ir Agung Sedaju MT, ITS Vice-Chancellor II Ir Mas Agus Mardiyanto ME Ph.D., ITS Vice-Chancellor IV Bambang Pramujati ST MSc Eng Ph.D., and Red and White Electric Bus Research Coordinator Dr. Muhammad Nur Yuniarto.

Dr. Muhammad Nur Yuniarto or who is familiarly called Nur, explained that the background of making this electric bus was to demonstrate the research and development capabilities of universities in Indonesia. The construction of the electric bus, which has been running since February 2022, is targeted to be completed in October 2022.

After signing the Matching Fund proposal contract by ITS Vice-Chancellor IV Bambang Pramujati ST MSc Eng Ph.D. (second from left) and Dr. Muhammad Nur Yuniarto (three from right)

According to Nur, the manufacture of this electric bus is a further development of the electric bus made by PT INKA, Inobus. This ITS Mechanical Engineering Department lecturer said that Inobus has a low Domestic Component Level (TKDN) of 30 percent. “So we need cooperation assistance with several universities to increase the TKDN to 60 percent,” he said.

The universities that are members of the Red and White Electric Bus Construction and Development consortium include ITS, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Airlangga University (Unair), and the Indonesian Art Institute (ISI) Denpasar. “The role of this university is to increase TKDN, starting from making designs to making spare parts components,” explained Nur again.

All parties involved in the Manufacture and Development of the Red and White Electric Bus

The lecturer from Purworejo said that later the development of the Red and White Electric Bus would continue after it was used for the G20 Summit. These buses will be used as public transportation in Indonesia. “After being used at the G20 Summit, this electric bus will begin to be used in the cities of Surabaya and Bandung,” he said.

Handing over of souvenirs from ITS Chancellor Prof. Dr. Ir Mochamad Ashari MEng IPU AEng (right) to the Acting Secretary of the Directorate General of Higher Education Prof. Tjitjik Sri Tjahjandarie

Meanwhile, the ITS Chancellor, usually called Ashari, expressed his hopes for this collaborative activity. According to him, contributing to the Manufacture and Development of the Red and White Electric Bus can be used as a momentum so that the works made by domestic children can compete with electric cars made abroad. “Hopefully, this project is given a smooth and can be sustainable into the future,” concluded Ashari. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Regy Zaid Zakaria