A new international tender is reportedly being prepared by the relevant transports and infrastructure ministry - i.e. the central government - for the mass transit bus systems of greater Athens and Thessaloniki, OASA and OAS.Th, respectively, a week after a similar tender by the previous SYRIZA government was scrapped.
According to reports, the new tender will involve the purchase of 1,000 buses, with a budget of 500 million euros envisioned.
A major factor in the state procurement will be the level of financing that will be achieved through National Strategic Reference Framework and through borrowing from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The previous government had unveiled an urgent tender to purchase 750 buses for 461 million euros.
According to reliable sources, some 600 to 700 of the new buses to be purchased, assuming the tender proceeds, will be electric or hybrids vehicles.
