Toll Collect Group Hit With 5bn Euro Bill

The fiasco of the Toll Collect highway truck toll project in Germany could set the consortium responsible for the troublesome intiative back 5 billion euros ($6.06 billion), according to reports from the German government's traffic ministry on Friday. The consortium, which includes German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom and automaker DaimlerChrysler, is being accused of deception and withholding information from the government over how much delays and failures in the toll system cost the country in lost revenue. The high-tech system began operation in early 2005, one and a half years later than planned. The decision on compensation is likely to go before an arbitrations board after the original sum of 4.5 billion was increased.