Arriva racked up a debt of €50 million in two-and-a-half years on its Malta operation, according to Transport Minister Joe Mizzi.

The minister let slip the figure yesterday when asked about the cost to public coffers of the share transfer agreement that will see the public transport service nationalised.

Mr Mizzi did not disclose the financial details of the agreement, urging journalists to wait until Transport Malta and Arriva put pen to paper by the year’s end. “It’s only a couple of days,” he said.

While explaining that the predicament Arriva found itself in was not of the government’s making, Mr Mizzi said the company accumulated a debt of €50 million since starting operations in 2011.

It is unclear how much of this debt is due to operational losses and capital expenditure but Arriva has reportedly lost millions over the past two-and-a-half-years – this year alone the company is said to have lost €23 million.

The public transport service will officially be taken over by a government company on January 1.

Mr Mizzi said the government wanted to avoid Arriva’s liquidation, an option considered by the company, which would have left the country without a public transport infrastructure.

“I wanted to seek the country’s best interest and the workers’ best interest. With liquidation the country would have had a problem and workers would have been without a job. At every step I will seek the best deal for the country.”

The share transfer agreement will see Arriva’s assets, including buses and drivers, and debts being transferred to the state company.

Asked whether Transport Malta had the manpower to run the public transport service, Mr Mizzi said the government had a contingency plan.

“A team from Transport Malta will be working alongside a team of managers from Arriva over a transition period,” he said, insisting the changeover will be business as usual for commuters.

He reiterated it was not the government’s intention to keep a nationalised bus service and a call for expression of interest should be out as quickly as possible. However, he did not give a timeline.

“The new routes that Transport Malta had devised after broad consultation will be the basis on which any new operator will have to operate,” Mr Mizzi said.

The minister confirmed that foreigners will start paying the same fares as residents in the New Year, a decision that will come at a cost.

He did not put a price tag on the change, saying the government company that will take over the service will seek to recoup some money through better efficiency. Malta was forced by the EU to drop the discriminatory pricing structure.

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