Ballymena's Wrightbus wins contract for 800 electric buses for Republic of Ireland

County Antrim company Wrightbus has secured a deal to provide the Republic of Ireland with 800 zero-emission electric buses over five years.

The agreement was announced on Monday with an initial order of 120 buses worth around €80.4m, according to Ireland's National Transport Authority.

It is thought to be one of the biggest contracts ever agreed in Ireland.

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The battery-powered buses - Streetdeck Electroliner BEVs - will be made at the Wrightbus facility in Galgorm, on the outskirts of Ballymena.

Neil Collins, managing director of Wrightbus said: "We are extremely proud of this historic deal, which is hugely significant for Ireland’s decarbonisation ambitions and for us here at Wrightbus.

"This deal further cements the reputation we have built in the zero-emission sector, and follows hot on the heels of historic deals in Australia and Germany.

"This shows our ambition to be at the forefront of the zero emission drive in cities, towns and rural areas across the world.”

North Antrim MP Ian Paisley congratulated the company on the historic deal.

He said: "I am delighted that today Wrightbus has secured one of the biggest bus building contracts ever agreed in Ireland with its transport authority. This is wonderful news for the company and for the workforce whose commitment to excellence is obvious."Such orders only come about because of hard work and the best product. The Wrightbus transport solutions are the right product for the time and are now part of the mainstay of transport solutions in UK, ROI, Germany, Australia and elsewhere."This is wonderful news and I congratulate the company."

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