EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said Tuesday he expected that all deals needed for construction of the European Union satellite navigation system will be completed by the end of the year.
When finished in 2013, the 3.4 billion (US$5.4 billion) Galileo program will compete with the American GPS system.
"We hope that we will succeed in completing all the necessary contracts for building the satellite system by the year's end," Barrot told reporters after meeting Czech Vice-Premier Alexandr Vondra.
Barrot did not give any details about the contracts.
After the private sector abandoned Galileo last year, the European Commission drafted contracting rules to ensure large and small companies in many EU nations could benefit from the construction of the Galileo program.
Germany, the biggest contributor to the EU budget, pays the most toward constructing Galileo and its companies will benefit proportionately, officials have said.
The rules divide Galileo contracts into six segments covering various stages of the project. No single company can be the prime contractor for more than two segments.
