Spanish company Autobuses Urbanos de Leon has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate Malta’s public transport services, the government announced yesterday.
The Transport Ministry was already in talks with the company but yesterday said “official negotiations will start in the coming days”.
The ministry admitted last week that talks had been held – Transport Minister Joe Mizzi flew to Spain to visit the company’s headquarters – but denied reports the preferred bidder had already been chosen.
Official negotiations will start in the coming days
The admission had prompted Island Malta Buses Ltd, one of two other bidders, to raise questions about the manner in which the process was being handled. The company had expressed surprise that talks had started while it was still waiting to learn the name of the preferred bidder.
The move was also criticised by Opposition spokesman for transport Anthony Bezzina, who said Mr Mizzi’s meetings in Spain breached the conditions laid down in the call for expressions of interest.
But Mr Mizzi defended his action, saying he went to Spain to verify some technical aspects of the bid.
Following the announcement yesterday, a spokesman for Island Malta Buses, a consortium formed by eight private and bus coach operators, said it was still too early to comment.
Apart from these two bidders, there was also Gozo First Travel, which was only interested in operating the service in Gozo.
The Spanish company is a subsidiary of the ALSA Group, which says it is 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, which requested an annual subsidy of some €42 million. The public transport service was nationalised at the beginning of the year when Arriva, the previous operator, pulled out and transferred all its assets to the government.
Information tabled in Parliament shows that Malta Public Transport Services Ltd, the company that took over the service, spent more than €7 million in the first two months of operation.
General Workers’ Union daily l-Orizzont published a story recently that the company was paying more than €35,000 a day to rent coaches to replace the bendy buses withdrawn from service after several of them caught fire.
Twists and turns over bid
June 11: Transport Minister Joe Mizzi travels to Spain for talks with Autobuses de Leon.
July 3: Representatives of Autobuses de Leon in Malta for talks.
July 26: GWU daily paper l-Orizzont says Spanish firm to replace Arriva.
July 27: Mr Mizzi says preferred bidder has not yet been chosen.
August 7: Mr Mizzi says preferred bidder has been chosen but refuses to name it.
August 13: Government announces preferred bidder.