Manufacturing industry gets boost as government plans to build 200 buses
The State Government has pinned the revival of the bus manufacturing industry on a plan to build 200 vehicles in Queensland.
The state government has unveiled to help fund the manufacture of 200 new buses in Queensland (file image).
The Government will spend an initial $134 million on the scheme which will be used by the Department of Transport and Main Roads through a procurement process.
The Government said the it was expected that the strategy would restore the bus manufacturing sector which had been suffering from a lack of orders.
The buses will remain under the ownership of the Department of Transport and one service they would provide would be move rail passengers during periods of disruption or planned maintenance.
“This is an investment in Queenslanders and the future of our skilled manufacturing sector,” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
“We know that when we build here in Queensland, we are supporting local workers, local suppliers and the next generation of skilled bus builders.
“We make no apologies for backing Queensland workers – whether it’s trains or buses, they are built better when they’re built by Queenslanders.
“I look forward to the procurement process coming to an end and the appointment of a bus builder soon after.”
