Delivery of 27 "Neobus" buses to Saudi Arabia

The Novi Sad bus factory "Neobus" will export 27 buses to Saudi Arabia. The buses are intended for transportation of pilgrims to Mecca and Medina.

The CEO of "Neobus", Radenko Kostić, said yesterday (June 9, 2009) at the press conference that that was the first export by "Neobus" in 18 years.

Saudi Arabia will be delivered 15 minibuses of type "mercury", 8.5 meters long, and 12 tourist buses of model "sole", 12 meters long.

- The buses from the Novi Sad factory will be transported to the port in Rijeka, and then to port "Xeda" in Saudi Arabia by ship. The buses are equipped with air conditioning system with special engines, which is very significant because of the high temperatures - said Kostić.

The CEO of "Neobus" said that all buses were equipped with the reservoirs for drinking and technical water, which would make it possible for Moslem pilgrims to carry out ritual washes.

All vehicles are the products of cooperation between "Neobus", FAP from Priboj and "Famos" from East Sarajevo.

Kostić announced that another 28 vehicles would be exported to the market of Saudi Arabia in September, as well as 10 most luxurious buses for international travels.

"Neobus" was bought at an auction in 2004 by Ala Magrabi Mohamedali, a businessman from Saudi Arabia.

Kostić said that "Neobus" had recently signed the three-year contract with Dutch company VDL, according to which the company should deliver 150 buses a year, and the job was worth 27m EUR.

In addition to the contract with VDL, "Neobus" maintains a long-time cooperation with Swedish company "Volvo", with which the contract on strategic partnership for Southeast Europe was signed in 2006.