STOCKHOLM: A ban on combustion engine vehicles in Stockholm`s city centre has been put on hold, a government agency said on Friday, just a month before the ban would come into effect.

The Swedish capital was aiming to become the first city in the world to reserve some 20 blocks of an upmarket shopping district for `zero-emission` vehicles on Dec 31. But the region`s County Administrative Board ruled the measure would be put on hold, while appeals from five companies in the area were examined.

The companies have requested that the measure be withdrawn or postponed. With this zone, the city of Stockholm, led by the Social Democrats and the Green Party, wanted to improve air quality.

`We want the air quality to become better, we want the noise to become less and we also want to create incentives for transport companies and others to when they invest in the next vehicle, choose one that can drive in this area,` Lars Stromgren, the city`s vicemayor for transport and urban environment, said earlier this week. After the announcement of the zeroemission zone, transport industry group the Swedish Confederation of Transport Enterprises lamented a rushed process.-AFP