A court has granted a temporary injunction preventing the government from entering into a contract with the Spanish company selected to run the bus service from January.

The injunction was re-­quested by competing bidder Island Buses Malta, a Maltese consortium, which claims the tender by Spanish firm Autobuses de Leon did not respect the conditions laid down in the call for expressions of interest.

The announcement that the contract was going to Autobuses de Leon was made in August and the contract was expected to be signed within the next few weeks.

At the time, Island Buses, formed of eight private and bus coach operators, had said it would not contest the decision.

In its case filed in court this week against Transport Malta, the Transport Ministry, the government and Malta Public Transport Services, it said that at the time, certain facts were not known and they only emerged recently in the media.

Autobuses de Leon, it argued, did not observe the conditions laid down in the call for expressions of interest.

It had emerged that it would not be operating the full service immediately but would be benefiting from a subsidy of €23 million. This amount would increase over the years as the service expanded, new buses were bought and more people employed.

‘Injunction is in interest of the public’

Island Buses said its bid had been submitted according to fixed parameters so that the subsidy it needed for the entire service – €40 million – was calculated upfront.

But in accepting the phased-in service, Transport Malta, as the contracting company, had given Autobuses de Leon an advantage, exceeding its discretional powers, the Maltese consortium said.

Had it known this was an option, it would have submitted a more competitive bid quoting a lower figure.

Island Buses argued that an injunction would be in the interest of the Maltese public.

Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti temporarily upheld the request and ordered the authorities not to enter into any agreement or contract, or make any transfers or sales, with Autobuses de Leon or any of its subsidiaries.

The case continues on November 27.

Lawyers Nicholas Valenzia and Stephen Muscat are representing Island Buses.

Autobuses de Leon is a subsidiary of the ALSA Group, a leading Spanish transport company with a fleet of 2,300 buses.

Last night the Transport Ministry said it would take all the necessary steps, including legal, to provide Malta with a suitable public transport service as soon as it possibly could.

Reacting to the news of the injunction, the ministry said that together with Transport Malta and the company Malta Public Transport Services, which currently runs the buses, it was determined to provide a service which met the aspirations of the Maltese.