Minister Zabaneh: 150 New Buses for NBC Operators

The government is moving forward with its plans to modernize the national bus system, and Transport Minister Dr. Louis Zabaneh says commuters can expect major improvements in the years ahead. Dr. Zabaneh recently returned from an official visit to Taiwan and South Korea, where he and Minister of Energy Michel Chebat met with bus manufacturers and reviewed modern inter-city transit systems.

“We went there in particular because we wanted to learn more about their inter city bus systems, engage with manufacturers of buses and be able to have enough information to do the analysis of what would be the best mix of buses for the new company that we are in the process of forming,” Dr. Zabaneh explained.

According to the minister, international manufacturers are already open to Belize’s proposal for the purchase of 150 new buses that will replace the current fleet used by the 21 bus operators who have voluntarily agreed to join the new public-private partnership.

Dr. Zabaneh added that Taiwan’s experience mirrors Belize’s situation. “They said that in 2002, they had a very similar situation where they had to go in and consolidate because they were having similar negative adverse impact on the quality of service to the commuters. And so we were able to learn a lot about what they have done and they are willing to share all of that with us.”

He noted that the ministry is on track to meet Cabinet’s deadlines. “We are sticking to the timeline that Cabinet gave us at the ministry, which is that by the end of this year we should know everybody who is coming in on the PPP. On the 25th, if we have a Cabinet meeting, that is our aim to be able to share this and get the green light from Cabinet for the next phase, which will be the formation of the new company, the legal formation, the PPP agreement, the first draft of it, and then also the draft legislation that will protect the interest of that company.”

The National Bus Consolidation Pro Tempore Advisory Committee met on October third to advance the transition to a new Consolidated National Bus Company. Seventy-one percent of operators have agreed to participate, and audits are underway to prepare an opening balance sheet by mid November. The committee continues consultations with operators, banks and international partners to ensure transparency. Operations for the new system are scheduled to begin on January first 2026.