WESTERN BUREAU:
A CANADIAN firm has expressed an interest in acquiring the contract to construct the proposed $160 million air traffic control tower at the Sangster International Airport.
Minister of Transport and Works Robert Pickergill told The Gleaner yesterday that the firm is reputed to have vast experience in constructing control towers and have presented a formal expression of interest in the project.
"I will be meeting with their representatives in a few days," said Mr. Pickersgill, declining to release the name of the firm until the initial meeting. "We will be sitting down with them to discuss the plans for the project."
The Transport Minister said designs for the new tower, which will rise higher than the current facility, have been completed and the end result will be a state-of-the-art control tower.
Less than two weeks after the official opening of the eastern concourse at the airport in December, air traffic controllers complained of possible security problems due to diminished visibility of the aircrafts in that section.
RESPONSIBILITY
"The core responsibility of air traffic controllers is to prevent collision between aircrafts in the air and on the ground with other aircrafts and vehicles on the manoeuvring area," Howard Greaves, President of the Air Traffic Controllers Association, told The Gleaner.
"What has happened is that when an aircraft is parked on the new wing a controller cannot see that aircraft in its entirety nor can it see any vehicle or personnel that might be operating in proximity."
According to Ms. Greaves this creates a serious problem, as the controllers cannot give "positive clearance" to pilots requesting permission to start their engines.
The existing tower was constructed more than 40 years ago and has proven inadequate in managing air traffic at the airport, which is the largest in the island.
