The Chinese government has donated 72 new buses to Maputo public transport company Transportes Públicos de Maputo (TPM). The fleet of Yutong diesel-driven buses are worth about $4.6 million and, in addition to agreeing to provide spare parts, China is to establish a workshop in Maputo to provide training in bus maintenance.
The gift comes immediately after TPM ordered 150 buses from India under a credit system financed by the state’s Transport and Communications Fund (FTC). Made by Mumbai-based firm Tata, the buses run on compressed natural gas which is readily available in Mozambique.
TPM has long suffered from an under-supply of buses and recently revealed that it had capacity to transport only ten per cent of those trying to commute, estimated at 900,000 daily.
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