A South Korean taxi company is back in talks with City Hall to take over a new bus service from a Chinese company it initially lost the contract to, according to the company’s director.
Choi Dae Yong, director of the South Korean firm Trans-Choice, said Thursday that his company is negotiating to take over the public bus system. He estimated it could take up to six months to deploy 50 buses along an expanded network of six routes.
“It is under negotiations, but we need to prepare a more convenient system so we need time,” he said, declining to give further details.
Global (Cambodia) Trade Development, which also operates Phnom Penh metered taxi service Global Taxi, began operating Phnom Penh’s first bus service in March after a successful one-month, single-route trial by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.
But this week the company handed operations back to City Hall, without having expanded service beyond its original trial route along Monivong Boulevard. On Thursday, the company’s CEO Lim Andre would only attribute the move to “technical problems.”
The company won the contract without a public competitive bidding process. It secured the deal on the basis of a verbal agreement that called on the company to invest $12 million over five years.
Long Dimanche, City Hall spokesman, said that Global Trade now wants the municipal government to subsidize the City Bus service. Last month, Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong justified the lack of a bidding process by saying Global Trade was the only company prepared to shoulder the entire cost of the project.
“There are some conditions regarding the company asking City Hall for subsidies, which the city cannot afford,” Mr. Dimanche said, adding he had no information about whether South Korean Trans-Choice Cambodia would take over the reins.
In an interview last month, Mr. Dae Yong expressed disappointment that City Hall reneged on an earlier verbal agreement with Trans-Choice to operate the bus service. Although it proposed a more modest investment of $5 million, his proposal had the backing of Busan city government in South Korea.
“Busan and Phnom Penh have a sister city relationship,” said Mr. Dae Yong. “And Busan City Bus Association was willing to provide us with very modern, very well-maintained buses.”
Mr. Andre of Global Trade denied that his company had relinquished the city bus service for good. He said a decision on whether to resume operations would be taken after Khmer New Year.
