4 days ago
New Sydney buses assembled in China months after Premier Chris Minns' government said fleet will be built in NSW
A fleet of new electric buses set for Greater Sydney have been built in China and not locally, months after NSW Premier Chris Minns' government said the state's South Coast would become a 'manufacturing hub'.
The NSW government announced in January that it had awarded vehicle manufacturer Foton a contract to build 126 electric buses at a new manufacturing facility in Nowra.
A statement by the government outlined a plan for the buses, which would be added to Greater Sydney's transport network, to be built at the 6,000 square metre bus factory from late 2025.
'The South Coast is set to become a new manufacturing hub for the next generation of public transport,' the statement said.
However, pictures posted on Foton Motor's Facebook page, which now appear to have been deleted, have showed over a dozen buses lined up at a Chinese facility before they were shipped to NSW, the Saturday Telegraph has reported.
Photos of the buses showed ribbons attached to the front of them, as it appeared a ceremony for the newly completed fleet was held, and another picture showed the unfinished interior of one of the vehicles.
It is understood some features such as Opal card reading devices will be added to the buses in NSW.
Mr Minns has defended the buses being built overseas, according to the masthead.
In January, when the Nowra facility was announced, the Premier said that under his government, bus builders in NSW were 'building them here again.'
'The offshoring of public transport by the former government was a complete disaster, which is why we're building these buses here in NSW – creating local jobs and public transport that works,' Mr Minns said.
'This state of the art facility in Nowra will create ongoing skilled jobs in regional NSW while also delivering emissions free world class public transport for the people of our state."
NSW Minister for Transport Jo Haylen had said 100 jobs would be created once the new facility in Nowra was completed.
'We want our local manufacturers and suppliers to have good opportunities to get involved in building the Zero Emissions Buses that we need. That's why we have structured our zero-emissions bus program in a way that builds our bus manufacturing capacity for the long term,' Ms Haylen said.
The Nowra factory site is yet to be developed and features such as seats will be installed on the newly built buses at a temporary site on the South Coast, according to The Saturday Telegraph.
