Bogdan To Deliver 550 Buses To Kazakhstan In 2005-06.

Bogdan representatives agreed to deliver 50 small class buses in 2005 and 500 in 2006, during their visit to Kazakhstan. The contract is estimated to be worth USD 18.7 mln. If the company’s annual sales on the Kazakh market surpass 1 th units, the company will start assembling buses there. Bogdan believes there will be an annual demand for 700-750 buses in Alma-Ata alone, but says strong competition with Chinese producers should be taken into account due to Kazakhstan’s proximity to China. Concorde Capital: The Kazakh plan quite impressive when you consider the company’s total 9-month production volume was 1265 vehicles. The company focused on CIS markets this year. In August Bogdan started assembly operations in Belarus, announced plans to deliver 150 buses to Georgia, 140 to Russia in 2005, and is considering starting assembly operations in Russia after annual sales of Bogdan-made buses exceed 1 th units there. The buses are being produced at the Cherkasy Bus plant, but Bogdan has announced plans to transfer its bus production capacities to LuAZ (projected annual capacity 6 ths buses).