FarEastone wins toll system bidding

The FarEastone (遠傳電信) and Efkon AG partnership was selected yesterday as the winner of the second phase of a bid to implement the nation's electronic toll collection (ETC) system.

The group must now prove that its ETC facilities work before a contract for the project can be signed.

According to the bidding procedure set forth by the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau, the FarEastone team will be required to install its ETC system in the Hsuehshan tunnel area on National Freeway No. 5 by March 31.

The system will be inspected between April 1 and April 15 under simulated traffic conditions. The Ministry of Transportation and Communication expects that a contract will be signed by April 27 at the latest.

If FarEastone fails to meet the ministry's standards, however, a contract will not be awarded, and the Taiwan Yu-Tung Information Technology Co (台灣宇通) partnership will be given a chance to undergo the testing process.

The three partnerships vying for the build, operate, transfer (BOT) project last night -- FarEastone and Austria's Efkon, Acer Inc and Norway's Qfree ASA, and Taiwan Yu-Tung and Raytheon Co -- were chosen as finalists on Dec. 24 from a list of seven contenders.