OREANDA-NEWS.  May 14, 2012. The Government gave the Austrian company Kapsch TrafficCom the guarantees to pay for the expenses on the first two phases of the development of the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system in Belarus, reads Resolution No. 401 of the Council of Ministers.

As reported earlier, Belarus is planning to install the ETC system on the roads connecting Minsk with regional centers. Under the investment contract, Kapsch TrafficCom AG will implement a short-range communication based system along the 2,743km of road network. The total value of the contract is EUR 267 million, of which EUR 158 million will be utilized within two years as the first two phases of the project are implemented.

The first phase of the new system is slated for launch on 1 July 2013. Following the implementation of the system, vehicles driving along toll roads will not be required to stop for payment and tolls can be collected in advance or afterwards.

Vehicles weighing more than 3,500t and passenger vehicles, except for the cars from the Customs Union, will have to pay road tolls. There will not be any speed limitations or traffic lane limitations, but vehicles driving along toll roads need to install onboard devices to pay.