Govt likely to okay Rs 1b Japan aid for 2G radar
KATHMANDU, MAR 14 -
The government is likely to approve aid worth Rs 1.10 billion pledged by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to install two second-generation radars at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) and Bhatte Danda, Lalitpur.
According to government officials, JICA had submitted the grant-in-aid proposal to the Finance Ministry some 15 days ago for the Cabinet’s okay.
According to officials at the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), JICA is worried by procedural delays by the Nepal government as it has to get the Japanese Cabinet’s approval before the fiscal year closes in March-end. Finance Ministry officials said that the government would give its go-ahead soon.
“JICA will provide radar equipment and technicians with the proposed amount,” said a CAAN official. Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) systems will be installed at TIA and Bhatte Danda under a TIA modernization project in a bid to make Nepali skies safer.
JICA has estimated the project to cost Rs 1.55 billion. The Nepal government will put up the rest of the money which will be spent on physical infrastructure like roads, electricity and water supply. The project is expected to be completed by 2015 if it is launched in April-May this year. “We are expecting that the government will make a fast-track decision,” said the CAAN official.
The MSSR ensures high performance to improve reliability and safety of air transport. Installation of MSSR systems at TIA and Bhatte Danda will extend en-route
surveillance up to 200 nautical miles. CAAN officials said the coverage of the new MSSR would extend up to Dang in the west and the entire country in the east, north and south.
At present, the radar at TIA is utilized for approach service and is limited to a coverage of 60 nautical miles. The 14-year-old equipment, which functions as both primary and secondary radar, does not provide the exact location of an aircraft to air traffic controllers if it is beyond Kathmandu approach control or outside the 60 nautical mile area.
The radar was supplied by Japan’s Toshiba Company in 1998, and it was installed under a grant assistance from the Japanese government. It was set up at a cost of US$ 34 million and was last serviced at a cost of Rs 42.5 million on April 8, 2010, after a gap of 12 years even though maintenance is required every seven years.
A five-member technical team led by Hiroyuki Ueda, senior advisor on transport at JICA, had conducted a study of the project in July last year. Installation of a secondary radar was proposed in 1994 when the existing radar was installed; but due to multiple reasons, the plan was put on ice.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
