National Transport Corporation of Mauritius debt around Rs 710 mln

Total debts of the National Transport Corporation (NTC) as of June 2011 stood at around Rs 710 million. However, this situation has cumulated over several years and about Rs 6 million to Rs 7 million were used for spare part purchases each month. This amounts to an average of Rs 80 million annually.

This information was given by the minister of Public Infrastructure, National Development Unit, Land Transport and Shipping, Anil Bachoo in reply to the private notice question of Opposition leader Paul Bérenger on Tuesday.

Bachoo stated that between 2000 and 2005, the NTC incurred a yearly loss of Rs 170 million.

“But this situation improved slightly between 2005 and 2010 with an average loss of Rs 100 million yearly,” he said in his address to the Parliament.

“For the first quarter of 2011, there has also been an operating surplus of Rs 9.7 million, which clearly shows that the NTC is going on the right track,” added the minister.

When asked by the Opposition leader if the debt was guaranteed by the government, Bachoo replied positively.

Bachoo also gave details about the number of accidents in which the NTC was involved. He added that the NTA was not at fault in over 50 per cent of the accidents, and 90 per cent of these were minor ones.

Bachoo also stated that 234 buses of the NTC were over 10 years old and 71 buses over 16 years. Referring to the number of buses dedicated to school services, Bachoo pointed out that there were 27 such buses.

The NTA will procure 117 brand new buses from Japan this year and 100 next year. Referring to the number of employees at the corporation, Bachoo said that from 2005 to 2011, the number of employees at the NTC dropped by nearly 500, mainly due to retirement, pilferage and other misconduct.

In reply to another question from Bérenger about the cost of the NTC building at Ebène, Bachoo said it was worth Rs 150 million, adding that the corporation has made an appeal to the Ministry of Finance regarding the possible sale of the building. The money received from the sale will be used to pay the debts.