China's Wanbao is the lowest bidder for the Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTC) contract for the installation of 270,000 new and replacement digital telephone lines on a build-transfer (BT) basis. Wanbao's bid is 25 per cent cheaper than the second lowest bidder, project sources say.

Nine firms bid for the job on 31 March. The bidders included France's Alcatel, Germany's Siemens, Sweden's Ericsson, Japan's Sumitomo, Wanbao, China Electronic Corporation, Telecom Foundation of Pakistan, Motorola of the US and NEC of Japan. The project has been split into five packages of 35,000 lines each.

The scope of work includes the installation of 189,000 new lines and 81,000 replacement lines in various parts of the country. The Chinese firm has proposed to set up a new switching centre, based on technology being used in China. At present there are four switching systems in Pakistan which have been installed by NEC, Ericsson, Siemens and Alcatel. The estimated $27 million contract is expected to be awarded by October.