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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 10 July 2019:
The first batch of 37 public transport buses ordered by Libya have been manufactured and are being shipped from China.
Libya media reports say that operator, Essahim Company for Public Transport, is expected to announce shortly the first routes for the new buses.
If these buses do indeed go into operation, it would be the first time public buses have operated in the capital for about 20 years.
It will be recalled that on 26 March this year, as reported by Libya Herald, Libya signed a contract to import a possible total of 130 buses from China’s King Long company.
The contract was signed in Tripoli by Essahim Company for Public Transport, a subsidiary of the National Investment Company (NIC).
Essahim is the importer and will operate the buses which will initially be for Tripoli.
The company had reported that it expects to expand its services to other Libyan cities.
It will also be recalled that Libya had announced plans for a public metro / underground system for Tripoli and Benghazi. The project has been stalled for decades.
Libya did make a start on its railway system, but the 2011 February revolution brought a halt to the project. A Chinese and a Russian company had been awarded, and started work on sections of the railway project.
