The Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) has purchased 50 buses from China worth over 2 million US dollars to ease public transport problems in the southern African country, an official said on Wednesday.

The company's chairman Charles Nherera said the buses were expected to arrive in the country in mid-April.

"The buses are going to improve transport in the urban areas as we are going to increase the fleet on routes that Zupco is already plying," he said.

Nherera said the 60-seat buses were the first consignment of 400 buses the company intended to acquire from China, 100 of which would be in the form of kits to refurbish old ones.

In January, the company procured 57 buses from Gift Investments,which won a tender to supply 170 complete buses before the end of last year.

Delays in the supply of the buses prompted the government to scout for other possible suppliers in China.

The government has been working to improve the transport systemin the country and has sourced foreign currency through the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to procure the buses.

Commuter omnibus operators, who have often been accused of overcharging and providing unreliable service, are failing to fully service their routes, resulting in commuters calling on the government to introduce cheaper and dependable transport.

Zupco, which intends to rebuild its fleet to about 1,500 buses,currently has over 100 buses, down from almost 1, 200 in 1995.

The company has drawn up a recovery plan, which has so far yielded positive results as 48 Scania Marcopolo buses were purchased at the end of 2002, while an additional 55 Isuzu minibuses were procured last year.

Source: Xinhua