Government will have to cover a $1.6 million damages bill from the Easter Sunday buses arson ? because its insurance policy only covers one third of the total tab.

Seven buses were destroyed in the early morning arson attack at the Somerset bus depot last month. Although nobody was injured in the blaze, the fire caused millions of dollars worth of damage before being extinguished by firefighters with the help of area residents.

Yesterday the Public Transportation Board announced that the total cost of replacing the seven buses is now estimated at $2.4 million ? with insurance covering just $800,000 of that.

But a Government spokeswoman insisted that the money will be found in the Transport Ministry?s existing budget through cuts and savings ? and that taxpayers will not have to foot the bill.

Though she admitted she did not know the exact reasoning behind the amount covered by insurance, the spokeswoman said it may have been due to the fact that one of the buses lost in the fire was a new bus, while the rest were older buses.

The chassis for the new buses replacing those lost in the arson should be arriving on the Island next month, with the bodies arriving by September.

?We have a contingency plan in place which would involve modifications to the schedule to cover up any loss of service,? the PTB spokeswoman said last night. ?All seven buses will be replaced and this is in keeping with the appropriations for the year.?