TASHKENT, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan is buying 168 Chinese-made buses for long-distance travel to serve its vibrant workforce flow to foreign countries, the Uzbek state news agency said on Thursday.
Uzbek state-run company Uzautotrans has already received 100 buses under the deal signed with Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in 2018, Uza news agency said.
The deal for the delivery of 168 buses was reached following Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's decree, issued in March 2018, which instructed the government to ensure the safety of Uzbek citizens who are headed abroad for seasonal work.
The Uzbek Transport Ministry had set up the Uzautotrans Service company for this purpose and around 120 drivers are being trained now to operate modern, Chinese-made buses, according to Uzautotrans Service.
The company did not give details such as to which countries the buses will be traveling to from Uzbekistan. However, bus routes to Russia and Kazakhstan are popular among Uzbek migrant workers.
Between two and three million Uzbeks work abroad as seasonal migrant workers, mainly in Russia.
