August 17 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's road infrastructure agency said six companies and tie-ups have submitted bids for a contract to introduce an electronic system for collection of road tolls worth 200 million levs ($120.2 million/102.3 million euro).
Three of the bids came from foreign companies or consortia that include foreign companies, namely Czech-based Tollnet, BG Pat – a tie-up consisting of Hungary’s I-Cell Global Solutions and Bulgaria’s Contrax, and a tie-up comprising several subsidiaries of Vienna-based Kapsch Group, the government agency said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The other three bids came from Bulgarian companies and tie-ups – Ciela Norma, Teletol – a tie-up between Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, Novanor and Ikom, and Toll Bulgaria consortium which includes Telelink, Sirma Solutions and CNsys.
The tender was first launched in April 2016 but has since been suspended and restarted several times due to complaints filed with the Bulgarian competition authority.
The e-toll collection system will cover 16,317 km of motorways and major roads. Vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes will pay toll charges based on distance travelled, while charges for lighter vehicles will be based on periods of time.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)