BERLIN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - The Toll Collect consortium has proposed launching its much delayed truck toll system in two stages starting at the end of 2004 with a simpler version, business daily Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.
The full system would be introduced one year after that, the newspaper reported, citing a new project plan presented to the Transport Ministry just ahead of an end-January deadline.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has given Toll Collect, held by Deutsche Telekom , DaimlerChrysler and Cofiroute , until the end of January to say when its system could work. He indirectly threatened to cancel the contract unless it presented a new plan by then.
The toll was supposed to have started last August, based on a high-tech system that uses satellites to track truck movements and calculate bills. The delays caused by technical problems have weakened Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe and embarrassed the government.
The consortium has proposed paying the government 65 million euros per month to make up for lost toll revenues if it fails to meet the new deadlines, Handelsblatt reported. But the group wants its liability to be limited to 500 million euros per year, it added.
At present it is paying a fine of 7.5 million euros per month, rising to 15 million euros per month from March.
Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe will decide by the weekend whether to accept the new plan, Handelsblatt reported.
There was no immediate comment from the Transport Ministry. Sources close to the project told Reuters on Tuesday that Toll Collect will present no proposals for helping the government to make up for toll revenues lost before the revised launch date.
By end-2004, the government will have lost 2.8 billion euros in toll revenues. A court will decide on liability, sources close to the project said.