Uzbekistan eyes 500 DaimlerChrysler buses for 65 mln euros

Interfax September 6 Uzbekistan may be buying 500 Mercedes-Benz city passenger buses from DaimlerChrysler for 65 million euros in 2004-2006, the Tashkent mayoralty told Interfax. One source said agreement was reached Thursday during a visit to Uzbekistan by a DaimlerChrysler delegation led by Klaus Mangold, advisor to the concern's CEO for working with countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The buses would be readied by Germany's EuroBus GmbH Mercedes-Benz (the U.S.-German concern's bus subdivision) and would be operated by AK Tashgorpasstrans, which unites passenger transportation enterprises in the Uzbek capital. A contact with EuroBus GmbH Mercedes-Benz is slated for signing this November. Contract financing will come from a Deutsche Bank AG loan (85%) insured by Hermes and guaranteed by the Uzbek government, and also out of Tashkent mayoral coffers and the country's budget.