Ascom announces major Portuguese contract

Ascom has announced two major transport contracts in a week. Ascom

The Ascom high-tech group announced on Wednesday it had won a multi-million franc contract from the Portuguese motorway operator, AENOR.

AENOR has instructed Ascom to install a toll system covering 22 toll collection stations along a 170km stretch of motorway.

The contract, worth €8.7 million (SFr12.74 million), involves the company’s MultiToll technology that provides on-line access to all parts of the system.

In a statement from its headquarters in Bern, Ascom said the system simplified maintenance and eliminated errors because monitoring staff had access to all functions and tools via the Internet and Intranet.

Only solution worldwide

The MultiToll system, which is already in operation in the British city of Birmingham, Benin and Vietnam, is the only automated solution worldwide for collection of motorway tolls.

“The large-scale project for AENOR in Portugal confirms our leading position in the international market for innovative traffic solutions,” commented Stefan Kalt, head of Ascom’s Transport Revenue division.

Last week, the company announced it had won a contract for an innovative ticketing system from the transport department of the Canadian city of Calgary.

The project includes the system design, installation and networking of 105 ticket vending machines and 105 ticket validators.

Ascom, which posted a loss of SFr395.5 million last year, has been going through turbulent times, with a series of divestments as part of a restructuring programme and the renewal of its board of directors.

The company’s share price has fallen by almost 90 per cent over the past year.

swissinfo