www.chinabuses.org: Macedonia will purchase 202 double decker buses from China's largest bus maker Zhengzhou Yutong Group for 35 million euros (47.5 million dollars) in a first such cooperation between the two countries, officials said recently.

Macedonia's Transport Minister Mile Janakievski told reporters that 68 buses would be delivered by the end of 2011, while the remaining vehicles were expected by 2013. "The buses will have a unique, retro design only for Skopje," Janakievski said.

Yutong Double Decker Bus

This is the first such venture between the two countries.

Zhengzhou Yutong Group - which won the government's bid with the best offer - is one of the biggest bus makers in Asia, producing 150 vehicles per day.

Earlier this year, Yutong announced that it had completed build of 85 buses to be delivered to Trinidad and Tobago. The total order for Trinidad and Tobago includes 60 units of the ZK6898HE and 25 units ZK6129H. This is the second market in the Caribbean area for Zhengzhou Yutong, after Cuba.