A new multi-mode radar system would be installed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) soon, as the scrutinizing process of bidding documents for the upgradation work is going on quickly, reports BSS. A panel of experts is carrying on the process to nominate a firm to provide work order for supply, installation and commissioning of a Multi-Mode Surveillance System (Radar, Ads-B Wide Area Multilateration-Wam) along with air traffic control (ATC) and communication system, said officials of Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB). The officials said four foreign firms along with their local partners submitted bidding documents for the jobs, but two of them were non-responsive in primary scrutiny. Now, technical evaluation of their proposal is underway. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism (MoCAT) received an unsolicited proposal under Public Private Partnership (PPP) in April, 2012 for upgradation of HSIA radar system. Later, Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the project on 23 September, 2013. Later, CAAB, PPP cell and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) formulated tender documents and published Request for Interest (RFI) on March 28, 2014. Besides, CAAB floated tender on November 8 last year. Officials said existing radar system in HSIA comprised primary and secondary system. The primary system was installed in 1984 while secondary was in 1986. Later, those were upgraded in 1987, 1994 and 2008 involving Taka 4.54 crore, Taka 4.5 crore and Taka 15 crore respectively. According to the ICAO guideline, all the airports across the globe have to mandatorily upgrade the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Air Traffic Management (ATM) system by 2017. To comply with the ICAO guideline, CAAB has initiated the process. Under the project, best quality and latest version of equipment/systems in the field of Surveillance, Communication and ATC would be collected while an iconic air traffic control tower along with well-planned and equipped air traffic control center would be constructed and communication system would be developed and upgraded. A CAAB official said CAAB would not invest in the project, rather it would have scope to earn over Taka 2,000 crore in next 20 years. Moreover, CAAB would get opportunity to train up its human resources for radar maintenance while the appointed firm would provide spare parts and maintenance cost for next ten years, he added.
