13/08/2012

Wrightbus Wins Singapore Contract

A Ballymena company has secured a three-year contract worth £41m to supply 550 double-decker buses to Singapore.

Wrightbus, which previously designed new buses for London and supplied UK company FirstGroup, will be the main supplier of the vehicles to SBS Transit.

It has already sold 450 buses to the Asian company since 2010.

Buses will be produced as kits in the firm’s Ballymena

The vehicles will be produced as kits in the company's Ballymena plant and then assembled in Singapore.

They will be 40ft long, air-conditioned low-emission double-deckers, built to withstand the hot climate and a high number of passengers.

Deliveries will begin in 2013 and will be completed by 2015.

The additional buses will form part of SBS Transit's fleet renewal scheme, which began in 2006, and will increase the firm's number of buses to 3,400.

Gan Juay Kiat, chief executive of SBS Transit said: "Our buses ferry more than 2.6m commuters to work and school everyday. With the new buses, we hope we can make those journeys that little bit more comfortable for our commuters."

Wrightbus said it was keen to see further expansion over the next five years.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster congratulated the company on the contract.

She said: "The company undertook a research and development project with the support of Invest Northern Ireland to develop a new knocked down (CKD) kit. This innovative approach has opened up new export markets for the business. The firm is clearly reaping the benefits of its continued investment in new product development and cutting-edge design."

(NE)

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