Legislative Assembly will have a new cut of $4.5 million for scholarships

In order to improve the public transportation system and continue to provide benefits to the population in this area, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly ratified, with 56 votes, the signing of a loan agreement with the Company YUTONG BUS CO.LTD, for the amount of up to 1,301,656,680 yuan, equivalent to $179,577,857.

According to what was discussed in plenary session number 10, the resources will be used to acquire 1,500 public passenger transport bus units, based on the Special Law for the Contracting of Public Works and Essential Services with Financing Included, which was approved in 2022.

The loan term is for eight years, with a grace period of six months, counted from the time the units disembark at the port. The interest rate is 6.5% and a 15% premium must be paid.

The purchase from Yutong, a bus manufacturer founded in 1963 in Zhengzhou, Henan, China, involves the acquisition of 1,100 buses measuring 12 meters in length, with a seating capacity of 41 to 50 and a maximum capacity of 90 passengers; and 400 buses measuring 8.6 meters in length, with a seating capacity of 21 to 30 and a maximum capacity of 50 passengers.

The idea is to renew 100% of the units and thus change the public transport system, which over time has been deficient and of poor quality, since the majority of the buses that operated under previous governments did not meet the necessary conditions to transport passengers.

In authorizing the loan to obtain the funds, the deputies indicated that the bidding process to make this purchase was free and transparent, since the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) received various offers, such as from Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, but it was the one from China that presented the best conditions.

The history of transport in the country

Currently, the MOPT is carrying out various road infrastructure projects, which serve as part of the strategies to reduce vehicular traffic and other series of works that will bring benefits to Salvadorans.

The modernization of public transport is part of this and that is why this institution continues to work in various ways to improve this area.

There are 9,816 public transport units in circulation in the country, and 43.87% of these have a useful life of between 16 and 20 years. According to the current transport law, the units have up to 20 years to be able to circulate.

Furthermore, 27.38% have between 11 and 15 years of useful life; 20.97%, between six and 10 years; and only 7.73%, between 0 and five years of useful life.

According to the official, in other countries such as Colombia, public bus fleets that are between 12 and 15 years old are replaced.

“With this ratification we leave a good feeling to the users of public transport, who are around 70% of Salvadorans. More than 40% of the buses are about to reach the end of their useful life and that is why it is necessary to renew them,” said parliamentarian Saúl Mancía.

The deputy indicated that the new Legislative Assembly is generating the necessary conditions so that the entrepreneurs of this transport system can acquire new units and thus provide a better service to the population.

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