Transport Malta has told the former Arriva Bendy Buses for €601,200 (excluding VAT). They will be exported to Sudan.

The buses were sold to a Maltese company.

A call for the sale of the buses closed on Friday last week, by which time three offers were received. 

The chosen company, which submitted the highest bid, is to sign the acceptance letter and pay a deposit on Friday. The buses will be shipped to Sudan within four weeks.

Transport Malta had acquired the buses free of charge. The funds from their sale will be used by Malta Public Transport Services.

The 80 Mercedes buses, originally used in London, have been parked at Horns Works Ditch in Floriana since August, when they were pulled off Malta's roads after a series of fires.

Experts concluded that the fires were caused by the conditions the buses were subjected to on Malta’s roads, as well as an element of poor maintenance.

In offering the buses for sale, Transport Malta had laid down that they cannot be returned to Malta’s roads, because of the congestion they caused.