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President Goodluck
Jonathan yesterday commissioned the Total Radar Coverage for the
Nigerian Airspace (TRACON) seven years after the contract for the
project was signed.

The contract to
execute the project was signed in 2003 between the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency (NAMA) and Thales S.A of France under the Ministry of
Aviation in the sum of 66,500,870 Euros.

The equipment has been installed in nine airports across the country.

The project
comprises 4 Primary Radar and 5 Secondary Radar Heads co-located in
Nnamdi Azikwe, Murtala Muhammad, Malam Aminu Kano and Port Harcourt
International airports. TRACON has 5 relay stations which serve as
standalone Secondary Surveillance Radar located at Talata Mafara,
Maiduguri, Numan, Obubra and Ilorin.

During the
commissioning, Mr. Jonathan noted that this was another stride by the
present administration to overhaul the aviation system and raise it to
international standards.

“This is another
deliberate stride by this administration to provide safe and secure
airspace across the country. The sector is currently undergoing
transformation from its past state of disrepair to conform with
international standards” he said.

He also noted that
this is coming shortly after Nigeria received the category 1 status in
the aviation sector, adding that this was a befitting gift for
Nigeria’s 50th anniversary.

“The TRACON equipment installation is a good milestone and a good 50th anniversary gift to Nigeria” he said.

Mr. Jonathan
commended the Minister of Aviation, Fidelia Njeze and her team as well
as the officials NAMA for the success of the project.

The Minister of
Aviation, Mrs. Njezeh, is the seventh minister to work with the seventh
project team and Mr. Jonathan is the third President to commission the
project before its completion according to the Acting Managing
Director, of NAMA, Nicolas Udoh.

Mrs. Njezeh in her welcome address admitted that the journey towards the realisation of this milestone was not an easy one.

She also noted that
the project was birthed to give surveillance to the airspace and “to
ensure the safety of all aircraft within the Nigerian airspace to avoid
collusion”.

“This will make Nigeria a force to be reckoned with”, as it is the third after Egypt and South Africa to attend this status.

The architectural
design of TRACON consists of Voice Communication Systems, Voice
Recording Systems, Very High Frequency Transceivers, fibre optic,
Display Consoles, Integrated Aircraft Billing systems and spares while
radars at the international airports comprise of both the primary and
secondary radars.

Between 2005 and 2006 alone, Nigeria witnessed two ghastly air crashes that claimed several lives.

Following the
tragedies, one of the projects embarked upon to address the safety
needs of the industry was the TRACON Project aimed at providing total
coverage for the Nigerian airspace to enhance civil and military
surveillance of aircraft (s) operating within the country.

The project was awarded by the Federal Government in 2003 and was supposed to be completed within 36 months.

Dignitaries present at the occasion include the governors of Delta
and Rivers, members of the National Assembly, Head of the Civil Service
Federation, some members of the Federal Executive Council, the Chief of
Defence Staff and Service Chiefs amongst others.