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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

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Ikarbus signs deal on delivering 22 buses

Belgrade, 7 April 2010

Ikarbus Acting Director Aleksandar Vicentic, Director of Veolia Transport Litas in Serbia Claes Gotthold and Director General of Veolia Transport Litas Zoran Jankovic signed an agreement on the sale of the first 22 buses manufactured by Ikarbus.

Thanks to the Ministry of Economy’s programme, worth RSD1 billion, aimed at instigating production and preserving jobs in domestic bus manufacturers, Veolia Transport Litas took advantage of the 20% discount for Ikarbus buses.

The deal signed today envisages the delivery of 15 buses worth around €2 million and the fulfilment of the contractual obligation from 2009 for another seven buses.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy Nebojsa Ciric stressed that the contract will enable the employment of all 300 Ikarbus workers, adding that the purchase of 15 buses will be subsidised by the Ministry of Economy with €400,000 as part of a programme to assist domestic bus producers.

This is the beginning of Ikarbus’ recovery. We will restore the glory of this company and help it become a regional leader in bus production, the State Secretary said affirming that the Ministry of Economy is negotiating with a potential strategic partner for Ikarbus.

He said that this is an international company from Western Europe, which wants to remain anonymous for the time being, adding that the final decision on cooperation with Ikarbus will soon be made.

This would be a huge step for Ikarbus, Ciric said noting that an ideal scenario would be a sales deal of 200–300 buses a year.

He also affirmed that talks are under way with Belgrade City authorities to renew the fleet of the Belgrade City Transportation Company with Ikarbus buses.

Gotthold said that the new deal with Ikarbus shows that trust has been restored in this factory thanks to the fact that the contract for delivering seven buses, closed before the privatisation break-off, has not been cancelled.

Cooperation with Veolia will enable Ikarbus to export buses, Gotthold noted.

Ikarbus CEO Nenad Mijailovic said that the Ministry of Economy will help Ikarbus with RSD 70 million so that the company could complete the production of the previously agreed seven buses with Euro 4 engines.

He also announced that new orders for three buses with Euro 4 engines will be submitted within the next four months, while 12 more buses with Euro 5 engines, to be first produced by Ikarbus, will be delivered before the end of the year.