Negotiations with the preferred bidder vying to operate the bus service are continuing and the transport ministry said the bidder's name will be revealed by next week. No reason was given for this delay.

In the wake of comments by Transport Minister Joe Mizzi that negotiations had started, one of the three bidders, Island Malta Buses Ltd, had expressed surprise that talks had started while it was still waiting to learn about the name of the preferred bidder.

Sources told this newspaper that no communication has yet been made with the Maltese consortium.

The other biddersare Spanish company Autobuses Urbanos de Leon (with whom the talks are believed to be taking place) and Gozo First Travel, which is only interested in operating the service in Gozo.

The Spanish company is a subsidiary of the ALSA Group, which boasts to be a leading Spanish transport company with a fleet of 2,300 buses, carrying more than 183 million passengers per year.

Sources said its offer was €20 million cheaper than the Maltese bidder’s, which requested an annual subsidy of some €42 million.

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