KATHMANDU, DEC 28 - 2012
A plan for modernizing Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport ( TIA ) has proposed installing a Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) at TIA and at Bhattedanda, Lalitpur to the south of the airport.
The recommendation was made by a five-member technical team led by Hiroyuki Ueda, senior advisor on transport at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which conducted a study in July. It is also preparing a detailed report of the project, according to TIA sources.
MSSR is a second generation radar that provides high performance to improve reliability and safety of air transport. Officials said that the JICA team was likely to prepare the detailed report by February. “If things go as planned, the project will be accomplished by 2015.”
Officials said that the project would be undertaken under a grant assistance of the government of Japan. The combined cost of the projects will also be stated in the detailed report. The project was estimated to cost more than Rs 1.5 billion three years ago.
According to TIA officials, installation of MSSR at TIA and Bhattedanda will extend the en-route surveillance up to 200 nautical miles. At present, the radar at TIA has been functioning for approach service and is limited to a coverage of 60 nautical miles.
The 14-year-old radar system at TIA which functions both as the primary and secondary radar system does not provide the exact location of an aircraft to air traffic controllers (ATC) if the aircraft position is beyond Kathmandu approach control or outside a 60 nautical mile area.
The ATC has to rely on voice based position reporting of aircraft outside the Kathmandu approach control.
The primary radar scans the exact location and angle of an aircraft by detecting reflected radio signals while the secondary radar provides much more detailed information, for example, the aircraft’s altitude, and it also permits exchange of data directly between aircraft for collision avoidance.
“Installation of MSSR will be a milestone to ensure safer and reliable Nepali skies,” said a TIA official. Officials expected that the coverage of the new MSSR would extend up to Dang in the west and the entire country in the east, north and south.
The radar at TIA was manufactured by Japan’s Toshiba Company in 1998, and it was installed under a grant assistance from the Japanese government. The existing radar was set up at a cost of US$ 34 million.
It 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.
Installation of a new radar will also encourage international airlines to use Nepali skies that will reduce traffic congestion over the Bay of Bengal, the busiest airspace for long haul flights from Southeast Asian airports to Western Europe, according to aviation experts. “International airlines are reluctant to use Nepal’s airspace due to poor radar surveillance,” experts said.
The planned radar will also assist a number of international routes like Trans Himalaya 1 (Bangkok-Kolkata-Nepalgunj-Indek in Pakistan) and Himalaya 2 (Kathmandu-Bagdogra-Guwahati-Silchar-Imphal-Kunming). Nepal has been pressing for the use of these lucrative airspaces at different aviation forums.
Officials said that although the radar at TIA is functioning well, periodic problems have been occurring due to its age. Installation of a secondary radar was proposed in 1994 when the existing radar was installed at TIA , however, due to multiple reasons, the plan was put on ice.
During the peak season from September-November, TIA handles more than 70 international aircraft movements and 230 domestic flight movements per day.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
A plan for modernizing Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport ( TIA ) has proposed installing a Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) at TIA and at Bhattedanda, Lalitpur to the south of the airport.
The recommendation was made by a five-member technical team led by Hiroyuki Ueda, senior advisor on transport at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which conducted a study in July. It is also preparing a detailed report of the project, according to TIA sources.
MSSR is a second generation radar that provides high performance to improve reliability and safety of air transport. Officials said that the JICA team was likely to prepare the detailed report by February. “If things go as planned, the project will be accomplished by 2015.”
Officials said that the project would be undertaken under a grant assistance of the government of Japan. The combined cost of the projects will also be stated in the detailed report. The project was estimated to cost more than Rs 1.5 billion three years ago.
According to TIA officials, installation of MSSR at TIA and Bhattedanda will extend the en-route surveillance up to 200 nautical miles. At present, the radar at TIA has been functioning for approach service and is limited to a coverage of 60 nautical miles.
The 14-year-old radar system at TIA which functions both as the primary and secondary radar system does not provide the exact location of an aircraft to air traffic controllers (ATC) if the aircraft position is beyond Kathmandu approach control or outside a 60 nautical mile area.
The ATC has to rely on voice based position reporting of aircraft outside the Kathmandu approach control.
The primary radar scans the exact location and angle of an aircraft by detecting reflected radio signals while the secondary radar provides much more detailed information, for example, the aircraft’s altitude, and it also permits exchange of data directly between aircraft for collision avoidance.
“Installation of MSSR will be a milestone to ensure safer and reliable Nepali skies,” said a TIA official. Officials expected that the coverage of the new MSSR would extend up to Dang in the west and the entire country in the east, north and south.
The radar at TIA was manufactured by Japan’s Toshiba Company in 1998, and it was installed under a grant assistance from the Japanese government. The existing radar was set up at a cost of US$ 34 million.
It 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.
Installation of a new radar will also encourage international airlines to use Nepali skies that will reduce traffic congestion over the Bay of Bengal, the busiest airspace for long haul flights from Southeast Asian airports to Western Europe, according to aviation experts. “International airlines are reluctant to use Nepal’s airspace due to poor radar surveillance,” experts said.
The planned radar will also assist a number of international routes like Trans Himalaya 1 (Bangkok-Kolkata-Nepalgunj-Indek in Pakistan) and Himalaya 2 (Kathmandu-Bagdogra-Guwahati-Silchar-Imphal-Kunming). Nepal has been pressing for the use of these lucrative airspaces at different aviation forums.
Officials said that although the radar at TIA is functioning well, periodic problems have been occurring due to its age. Installation of a secondary radar was proposed in 1994 when the existing radar was installed at TIA , however, due to multiple reasons, the plan was put on ice.
During the peak season from September-November, TIA handles more than 70 international aircraft movements and 230 domestic flight movements per day.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
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