NAIA: New Navigational Equipment Coming By August

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has announced that it will finally be replacing the broken navigational guidance system at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Image Source: Wikimedia

The Doppler VHF Omni-Directional Radio Range and Distance Measuring Equipment (DVOR) is an eighteen year old guidance system that was in use at the airport in Manila to assist pilots in locating the runway and landing during bad weather and low visibility. It was originally installed at the airport in 1996. 

A public bidding was held to replace the equipment that was won by a joint venture between Philcox Philippines Incorporated and Infra Australia Pty. Limited. The two companies bid P39,800,205 to replace the navigational equipment.  

According to the Bids and Awards Committee, the winning bid selected saved the government P13.9 million as the project bid ceiling had been originally set to P53.7 million. Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority says that the new guidance system will be installed by August 2014 at the latest. 

The existing navigational equipment last malfunctioned in June 2010 forcing air traffic controllers to divert several Manila-bound flights to the Clark International Airport affecting thousands of passengers. The Civil Aviation Authority believes that flight disruptions will soon be non-existent once the new navigational system is installed. The new equipment known as CNS/ATM, is in use at most international airports around the world. The equipment has a reputation for eliminating flight disruptions resulting from glitches on the ground.