Guadalajara, Mexico – A construction and engineering company owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has given Spain’s Indra a contract worth around $21 million to install a traffic management and highway tolling systems.

Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en America Latina, or IDEAL, awarded Indra the contract for "implementing its technology on the three motorways that make up what is known as Mexico’s ‘South Pacific Package’ and covers the Guadalajara-Tepic motorways and the beltways of both cities," the Spanish company said in a statement.

A leading provider of technology products in Europe and Latin America, Indra went on to say, "The contract calls for the installation of intelligent traffic management systems, as well as tolling and electronic tolling systems on the highways."

The deal bolsters Indra’s "solid presence in Mexico’s Transportation and Traffic market, where nearly 90 percent of investments made in new road infrastructures use the company’s technology," the statement said.

According to Indra, "The intelligent traffic control technology will allow the centralized, efficient, and flexible management and monitoring of the three motorways, facilitating operations in a predictive manner and also programming demand in real time."

The system will distinguish and recognize vehicles, collect traffic data, as well as detect traffic violations. The toll roads will have closed circuit television, or CCTV, weather stations and emergency telephone systems, among other features.

"These intelligent traffic systems will facilitate the constant monitoring of motorway flow conditions, incident control, and automated alarms for faster and more efficient responses. They will also provide drivers with information in real time about traffic data, travel times, suggestions, and weather information, which will result in increased travel safety, among other benefits," Indra said.

The 116-mile Guadalajara-Tepic toll road is expected to start operating in late 2012, while the beltways in the two cities are projected to open about a year later.

Source: IndraCompany.com