The contract for the sale of the 81 former Arriva bendy buses lays down that the price of €601,200 will be reduced to €460,000 if the vehicles are scrapped, according to information given in Parliament this evening.

Transport Minister Joe Mizzi told Nationalist MP Toni Bezzina that the government had received three bids for the sale of the buses, which were withdrawn from the roads in August after a series of fires.

The buses were sold to Tri Hills heavy industries for €601,200 plus VAT which would be reduced to €460,000 plus VAT if the vehicles were scrapped.

The buyer was obliged to remove all vehicles from the property of Transport Malta by May 7 - which is next Wednesday.

The minister stressed that while it was up to the buyer to decide what to do with the buses, they could not be used on Maltese roads.

ORIGINALLY DESTINED FOR SUDAN

It was reported when the buses were sold that they would be shipped to Sudan. However they have since remained parked in a Transport Malta compound at Horn Works Ditch in Floriana.

However it was recently reported that some of them were being scrapped in a garage in San Gwann.