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Radar installation works at TIA, Bhatte Danda resume
Works on installation of two new radar systems at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu and Bhatte Danda in Lalitpur, which had been affected by the April 25 earthquake and subsequent fuel shortages, have resumed.Works on installation of two new radar systems at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu and Bhatte Danda in Lalitpur, which had been affected by the April 25 earthquake and subsequent fuel shortages, have resumed.
Officials said they plan to complete the project before monsoon. After conducting test flights, the radars are expected to come into operation by the end of 2016.
The project was originally planned to be completed by 2015. However, the earthquake and monsoon slightly delayed the works. It was further delayed by the severe fuel crisis as a result of India’s trade blockade on Nepal since September 22, 2015. The fuel shortages lasted for more than five months.
“We have accelerated the works and we target to complete the project before monsoon,” said Sanjeev Singh Kathayat, the project’s chief. He said erection of an 18-metre tower at Bhatte Danda has been completed. “We are now in the process of installing an antenna on the tower.” The project is a part of the broader TIA modernisation project, under which the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has provided a grant of Rs906 million.
Meanwhile, construction of 3.5km gravelled road and power supply line to the project site has almost been completed. The power line, road access and housing facilities for project officials at Bhatte Danda have been supported by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal.
Started in 2013, the installation of the second-generation Mode S Monopulse Secondary Surveillance Radar (MSSR) system at the TIA will replace existing 18-year-old radar. The existing system at TIA was installed in 1997 under Japanese official development assistance.
The Japan government’s grant to modernise the TIA had come after two major crashes in 1992—Thai Airways in July and Pakistan International Airlines in September.
The new radar at the TIA would work for terminal approach aircraft, while the Bhatte Danda system will work for en-route aircraft.
The MSSR ensures high performance to improve reliability and safety of air transport. Installation of the MSSR systems at TIA and Bhatte Danda will extend en-route surveillance or flight locations up to 250 nautical miles from Kathmandu.
The coverage of the new MSSR would extend up to Dang in the west and the entire country in the east, north and south. Once the new systems are installed, the radars will monitor small aircraft flying on domestic air routes as well as international aircraft flying at high altitudes.
Besides, the radars give information on flight movement right from landing and taking off to weather conditions, aircraft identity and altitude, among others.
The existing system at TIA, which functions as both primary and secondary radar, is used for approach service and covers 60 nautical miles. It does not provide the exact location of an aircraft to air traffic controllers if it is beyond the Kathmandu approach control or outside the 60 nautical miles area.
The old radar was supplied by Japan’s Toshiba Company in 1997. It was set up at a cost of $34 million and was last serviced at a cost of Rs42.5 million on April 8, 2010, after a gap of 12 years, even though maintenance is required every seven years.
Installation of secondary radar was proposed in 1994 when the existing radar was installed, but due to multiple reasons, the plan was put on ice. Due to poor radar surveillance, international airlines have been reluctant to use Nepal’s airspace.