Civil aviation authorities will be able to keep track of each and every aircraft flying in the Nepali skies after the next-generation radar installed on Bhatte Danda in Lalitpur becomes fully operational next month.

The Rs906-million project was first approved five years ago, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) said.

Last Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Ministry gave the go-ahead to Caan to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct flight inspection of the Mode S Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) system.

“We have formally invited the FAA to sign the MoU to conduct flight inspection of the new radar,” said Caan Director General Sanjiv Gautam. “The radar will be formally switched on by the end of September.”

A technical test of the radar needs to be conducted with a special flight at an altitude of 43,000 feet. The test needs to be conducted on all routes.

The MSSR is an en-route surveillance system that can track aircraft up to 200 nautical miles. Its reach extends up to Dang in the west, and the entire eastern, northern and southern parts of the country. The existing radar at Tribhuvan International Airport has a reach of 60 nautical miles.

The new radar ensures high performance to improve reliability and safety of air transport. Once the new system comes online, it will monitor small aircraft flying on domestic air routes and international aircraft flying at high altitudes.

The radar also provides information about flight movements right from the time an aircraft lands to the time it takes off, besides weather conditions, aircraft identity and altitude.

The installation of a secondary radar was proposed in 1994, but the plan was put on the backburner due to multiple reasons.

The project, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), is part of the broader Tribhuvan International Airport modernisation project.

The radar was installed in July 2016 after four years of work. Jica handed over

the project to Caan last September.

The project initiated in 2013 was originally planned to be completed by 2015. The earthquakes of 2015 and monsoon delayed progress. It was further held up by a severe fuel crisis caused by India’s economic blockade of Nepal.

Caan had targeted bringing the new radar into operation by November last year. However, it was forced to push back the deadline after it did not receive a single bid to conduct flight inspection of the equipment despite issuing global tender notices twice.

Caan then requested the civil aviation authorities of New Zealand, the UK and the US for flight inspection directly under a government-to-government deal. The civil aviation regulator then selected the FAA.

Subsequently, in April, a team from the FAA’s regional office in New Delhi came to sign the MoU, but it returned without doing so because the US Embassy in Kathmandu wanted the Nepal government’s approval first, according to Caan. The proposal was then tabled at the Cabinet. However, the Cabinet returned the proposal stating that it did not need to re-endorse a decision taken by an independent regulatory body.

Based on the current estimate of the FAA, the test is expected to cost Rs20 million, according to Caan. More than 40 air traffic controllers have received training to operate the new radar.