The contract is expected to cost around 20 billion koruna (669 million euros, 861 million dollars), spokesman Jindrich Marek said, adding that the Defence Ministry would announce a tender by the end of April.

According to Deputy Defence Minister for Armaments Jaroslav Kopriva, the first machines could be delivered in two years.

The Defence Ministry will commit to ordering 199 APCs with the option of buying another 35 according to the military's needs and it will take four to five years to acquire all the machines, he added.

According to Czech news agency CTK, however, only three types of machines meet the military's demands: the Piranha, built by the Swiss firm Mowag, the Pandur made by Austrian firm Steyer-Daimler-Puch and Finland's Patria.

The new machines will have to meet certain criteria and will have to be able to be transported in large transport planes as the military wants to use them in foreign missions.

A purchase of 243 APCs for 25 billion koruna was originally planned, but delayed in light of heavy criticism from opposition politicians.

The new APCs will replace the OT-64s that have been used by the military over the last 40 years.

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