One seventy-five buses from China will arrive at Chittagong Port tomorrow, and will hit the capital streets in the first week of next month.
In addition, the communications ministry is importing 255 buses from South Korea in July, officials said yesterday.
The government plans to import about 950 buses in phases to meet the growing demand for transport in the capital.
Currently, some 9,000 buses and minibuses ply the city roads. The number seems inadequate for the city dwellers although there is no official statistics of the demand.
“A ship carrying 175 buses is now on the way to Chittagong from China,” said Col Md Akhter Kamal, director of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC).
The buses, each costing around Tk 33 lakh, will start plying different city routes right after their registration, he added.
Last year, the government imported 100 buses from China at the same price. They cost 10 million euros given by Nordic Development Fund (NDF).
The BRTC director said the contract with the Korean government has been signed in January for importing 255 single-deckers at Tk 210 crore.
These buses are better than those from China and will cost about Tk 70 lakh each excluding import tax. South Korean company Daewoo will assemble those.
The government is also going to import a large number of buses from India with loan from India. Among those, there will be 300 double-deckers, 100 single-deckers and 50 articulated buses, popularly known as bendy bus.
Tender was floated in January for importing the double-deckers from India. Cost of each bus has been estimated at Tk 60 lakh.
The crisis for transport in the city is growing by the day. Passengers are seen crowding at various city points, especially in the morning and evening hours, for transport.
Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain hoped the situation will improve once the 175 buses hit the streets.
