Kathmandu, Oct 24 (IANS): Launching a fleet of battery-operated buses Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has said that his country will reduce dependence on imported petroleum products by 50 per cent or even more by the year 2050.

Developed by Chinese company BYD the public fleet was inaugurated at a special function in Lalitpur on Tuesday by Oli who promised to move towards a cleaner environment and greener economy.

"Our overall national goal is to reduce dependence on imported petroleum products by 50 per cent or even more by the year 2050," he said.

The conversion of public transport to domestically-produced electricity would displace the expensive imported gasoline and diesel, Xinhua news agency quoted Oli as saying.

He said Nepal was going to be self-reliant in hydropower within the next few years and the government aimed to ensure that at least 20 per cent of the overall vehicles would run on electric power by 2020.

In the initial phase, five electric buses would ply on capital's streets here. Then the fleet would extend to Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha, after the construction of the international airport is completed in the region within the next 10 months.