World Bank to Advise Bulgaria on Introduction of E-Toll System
The World Bank said on Wednesday it signed a contract with Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency for providing advisory services to support the implementation of a national electronic tolling system."Under the contract, the World Bank will provide support for monitoring and quality assurance, expert and technical assistance, toll network and rate analysis and calculation, and technical communication support," the World Bank said in a statement."A team of World Bank experts will also promote a transfer of knowledge and will assist Bulgaria in meeting EU directives on tolling," the lender added. The agreement needs to be ratified by Bulgaria's parliament in order to enter into force. In January, Bulgaria's regional development ministry said it has signed a 150 million levs ($90.2 million/76.7 million euro) contract with a consortium led by Austria's Kapsch TrafficCom to develop and introduce an electronic road toll collection system. The system must be launched within 19 months. It will cover vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes, which will pay toll charges based on distance travelled.(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)