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The Ibis Transport Consortium of the UK yesterday paid Rs. 850 million to the Treasury, the first instalment of 60 percent of the Rs. 1.4 billion for the purchase of the 39 percent shares of the first six cluster bus companies.

This follows Ibis buying the bus companies: Colombo Metrolpoitan, Gampanha, Mahanuwara, Sabaragamuwa and Rajarata on October 31.

According to the agreement signed with the Public Enterprise Reform Commission (PERC) the first instalment had to be paid before February 15 and the second instalment before March 13. A spokesman for Ibis said that discussions are under way about the smooth transition and the date of the takeover has not been decided at this stage.

The Transport Ministry in January cancelled its arrangements to hand over the management of the Colombo, Kalutara, Sabaragamuwa, Mahanuwara and Rajarata cluster bus companies to Ibis owing to the investor's inability to submit the required amount of share value on time.

State Transport Minister Piyasoma Upali earlier said that the Government will not hand over the management of the companies to the investor until it pays the 60 per cent share value.

"In terms of the divestiture, neither 39 per cent of the shares nor the management could be handed over before Ibis pays Rs 851 million to the government. We will go by the rules of the procedure and the agreements will be signed only when these conditions are fulfilled," he said.

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