CAAP to install P49-M navigational equipment at Mactan-Cebu airport

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is set to install a P48.7-million navigational equipment at the Mactan Cebu international airport to help pilots locate and land on the runway during bad weather and low visibility.

CAAP director general William Hotchkiss lll said the new navigational guidance system would replace the Doppler VHF Omni-Directional Radio Range and Distance Measuring Equipment (DVOR/DME) installed in 1993.

DVOR/DME is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft that enables it to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio beacons, with the receiver unit using radio frequencies in the very high frequency (VHF) band.

Hotchkiss said CAAP has awarded the contract to Indra Australia Pty. Ltd. and joint venture partner Philcox Philippines Inc.

Hotchkiss represented CAAP in the signing of the contract while (Ret) B/GEN Generoso Maligat represented the Philcox-Indra joint venture.

Aside from the the supply, delivery, and commission with flight check of the DVOR/DME system, the project involves the removal of existing DVOR/DME system, underground power, and data cables as well as the installation of new underground power and fiber optic cables.

The project also includes miscellaneous grounding, electrical, and mechanical as detailed on the drawings as well as the rehabilitation of existing Doppler VOR counterpoise and shelter system, among others.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) has awarded the P17.5 billion expansion of the Mactan - Cebu international airport to the tandem of Filipino-owned Megawide Construction Corp. and Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure. The project has been delayed due to the failure of the government to relocate the Philippine Air Force base.

Last month, CAAP completed a P160-million project upgrading the obsolete air traffic management system at the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The project that upgraded the Eurocat air traffic management system put in place in 1996 would pave the way for the P13-billion next-generation satellite-based Communications, Navigation, Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) project.

The system is a computerized air traffic control and management solution that control en route, over flights, arriving, and departing air traffic from as far as 250 nautical miles.

The project was undertaken in partnership with Thales Australia and Pacific Hemisphere Development.