Kolkata (CCU) | Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport

[abhipinak]

Time factor in tall plans for air safety
A STAFF REPORTER
Safety comes second at Calcutta airport.

The civil aviation ministry has sanctioned a plan to replace the archaic air traffic control equipment that frequently land flights in trouble, but work won’t start until the integrated terminal is ready, a senior official revealed on Tuesday.

That means a long wait of at least another year — the Rs 2,300-crore terminal project is set to overshoot its April deadline by six months — before the first brick is laid for a new air traffic control tower twice as tall as the existing one.

The air traffic control revamp was part of the original modernisation plan for the airport till a shortage of funds put safety on the chopping block. The airport has since added to its abysmal safety record, the latest scare coming last week when a serial system crash left around 300 flights without remote surveillance and guidance for nine hours.

An official of the Airports Authority of India said building a new tower would entail an estimated additional cost of Rs 250 crore, of which around Rs 100 crore is to be spent on state-of-the-art communication, surveillance and navigation equipment.

Metro had reported last September that the shelved revamp plan was set to make a comeback.

A source in Delhi said the civil aviation ministry wrote to the finance ministry recently, conveying its approval of the plan along with the required technical details.

“The matter (of ATC modernisation) has been examined and the Airports Authority of India has informed that according to the development plan drawn for Calcutta airport, the site for the new technical block-cum-control tower has been incorporated in the master plan,” the private secretary to the civil aviation minister wrote to his finance ministry counterpart.

The letter also mentions that construction and upgrade of equipment would begin only after the integrated terminal is commissioned.

“We have received a copy of the letter,” an airport official confirmed. “The site for the tower has been selected,” he added.

The new tower will be 80 metres tall — the existing one is around 35 metres — so that it provides a clear view of the airfield. “A French firm has designed the tower,” the official said.

Although the airport doesn’t handle as many flights as Mumbai and Delhi, the skies above the city are said to be “very busy”. Around 750 flights fly over the city every day, adding to the ill-equipped air traffic control tower’s burden.

“It has been our long-time demand to modernise the ATC. Most of the equipment are outmoded,” said Kailash Pati Mondal, the secretary (east) of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Guild.

The guild had petitioned Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for funds to upgrade equipment.

IVORY TOWER

• Additional budget of Rs 250 crore
• ATC tower 80 metres tall, twice the height of existing one
• State-of-the-art equipment
• Work to start in 2012, after integrated terminal is ready
• Deadline yet to be fixed

Source: Telegraph
http://www.telegraphindia.com/111012...y_13492245.jsp

[abhipinak]

my question is why cant they do it simultaneously....If with the new terminal... the flight still has to compromise with their safety.. whats the point...

[abhipinak]

TNN, Jan 26, 2011, 04.00am IST

KOLKATA: The civil aviation ministry has reversed its decision to scrap the iconic air traffic control tower at Kolkata airport following trenchant criticism by a section of officers and intervention of Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

An official from civil aviation ministry has written to the FM's office, allaying fears of Kolkata airport being handicapped with antiquated communication, navigation, surveillance (CNS) and air traffic management (ATM) systems.

Sanjay Khandare, the personal secretary to minister of state for civil aviation, has written a letter to Mukherjee's personal secretary Manoj Pant, informing that work on the new technical block-cum-control tower will be taken up after first phase of Kolkata airport upgrade is completed by this year-end.

Mukherjee and Union minister of state for urban development Saugata Ray had earlier taken up the matter with former civil aviation minister Praful Patel following a TOI expos? that on the civil aviation ministry's decision to dump the tower from the airport modernization project. The move was aimed to keep the upgrade budget in check after cost escalated from Rs 1,942 crore to around Rs 2,600 crore. On slashing the Rs 220 crore tower, the revised project cost was pegged at Rs 2,325 crore.

"We had learnt about the shocking decision to drop the tower project from the TOI on November 10, 2009. Since then, we have been campaigning against the move and lobbying at various levels. The multiple efforts have finally paid off," gushed Airports Authority Officers Association general secretary YK Kaushik.

ATC Guild had also taken up the matter at various levels following the TOI report. Expressing delight over the project being revived, guild secretary Kailash Pati Mandal remarked: "For an airport to be world-class, state-of-the-art CNS and ATM equipment that relates to safety is as important."

Kolkata is the only metro airport that does not have an automation system despite the need for higher integration to control the high traffic in its airspace. With Kolkata airspace located strategically between major hubs in South-East Asia and the West, the airport has to handle over 500 overflights daily, apart from 200-odd flights that land and take off from Kolkata.

The new spiral torch-shaped tower, to be constructed next to the new administrative terminal, will soar 250 feet into the sky, giving controllers a clear view of the entire airport. The current tower building is barely 80 ft high.

Kolkata airport regional executive director Gautam Mukherjee, who had persistently argued for the need to upgrade the systems at Kolkata airport, was jubilant. "The architecture of the tower was the most impressive component of the project. When it was put in the backburner, we were all disappointed. Now that it has been revived, it will become a landmark," he said. In all, the tower will have 500-odd operations working in different shifts.

While construction of the tower is expected to begin in the second half of next year, it will take at least two years to become operational. The challenging civil construction apart, it will take at least a year and a half to float tenders and then select bids for flight data processing system, radar data processing system, data control processing system and new monitors. Thereafter, six more months will be needed to install the systems and then test them. Together, the project may cost around Rs 250 crore.

CNS executive director (operations & maintenance) P K Kapur said the process to upgrade the systems at Kolkata was already under way. "We are processing the proposal for Kolkata airport and should get the procurement process started soon," Kapur said.

Read more: City airport to get iconic ATC tower - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...#ixzz1C5iG1hf8

[mountaincloud]

bhagoban... let's hope the groundwork begins as soon as possible

[mountaincloud]

re-posting the render of the ATC tower from an earlier post in this thread:

[IMG]http://i54.************/25p62py.jpg[/IMG]

[sabya99]

Originally Posted by abhipinak

my question is why cant they do it simultaneously....If with the new terminal... the flight still has to compromise with their safety.. whats the point...

Perhaps AAI is waiting for an accident to happen!!
Kolkata region handles largest number of overflights in the country. This area also acts as a airbrigde between northeast india and rest of the country. Central govt. should keep that in mind.

[sabya99]

Brightly illuminated taxiway systems of Kolkata airport.
Please take a look at this you tube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpVRXqnG448

[abhipinak]

Does anybody have the information what would be location of the ATC tower?

[abhipinak]

@sabya... nice find... i think once the terminal construction is over... night videos would look spectacular....for the terminal

[sabya99]

Originally Posted by abhipinak

Does anybody have the information what would be location of the ATC tower?

I have heard the long range radars,VHF and UHF equipments will be placed in place called Badu ( ? ). But the actual control tower will be in the field. Probably they might demolish the current international terminal and some where here this tower will be located. Let us hope for the early decision!

[abhipinak]

TNN, Jan 28, 2011, 03.53am IST

KOLKATA: A crucial link between the very high frequency (VHF) transmitter and the air traffic control (ATC) building at Kolkata airport was severed for a couple of hours on Thursday morning, denying pilots and the ATC vital information on the weather from the meteorological department at the airport. However, a prompt switch to the standby transmitter located above the tower building ensured that flight operations did not get disrupted.

The VHF transmitter is used for communication between the cockpits of aircraft and the ATC.

The ATC lost the link to the transmitter around 9.10am on Thursday when the underground optic fibre cable linking the transmitter located near the under-construction administrative building to the tower building located between the domestic and international terminals was accidentally hacked by workers engaged in the airport upgrade. According to sources, a drilling machine being used for the construction of the flyover at the airport sawed through the cable.

Though the link between the ATC and planes was restored immediately through a standby transmitter located on the roof of the tower building, Met office informations could not be accessed by either the pilots or air traffic controllers till the severed cable was restored two hours later. Weather forecasts issued by the Met department every half hour are crucial to prepare flight plans.

Fortunately, the weather was fine over the city and flight operations did not get disrupted. "Had the disruption occurred a few weeks ago, when Kolkata was experiencing fog, it would have sent flight schedules haywire and even stopped operations till the link was restored," a veteran pilot said.

Read more: Crucial airport link severed for 2 hrs - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...#ixzz1CIKnCqkr

[abhipinak]

Originally Posted by sabya99

I have heard the long range radars,VHF and UHF equipments will be placed in place called Badu ( ? ). But the actual control tower will be in the field. Probably they might demolish the current international terminal and some where here this tower will be located. Let us hope for the early decision!

Possible place....hope so sooner the better.. loking at every day reports... they need the new ATC more sooner probably even before the terminal is ready...

[abhipinak]

Recent Video.. Flight landing in Secondary Runway... the Runway lpoks complete....

[sabya99]

@abhipinak it is a nice video. I could see AAI have set up a service road inside the newly encroached land. Housing for 01L ILS systems are also being built. There is a D-loop for rapid U-turn of large aircrafts in this extended 01L ramp area. Preparations are going on for relocation of 01L PAPI. Once integrated terminals are complete this end will be most heavily used for aircraft take off. Kolkata secondary runway will be as good as main runway. Lastly how nicely this turboprop approached 01L without ISL beam! Perhaps it was ground based terminal approach control radar, that did the job! 

[sidney_jec]

image hosted on flickr

DSCN0011 by Spatzy, on Flickr

[zoxtannin]

Good video, but sad to see unplanned growth covering major part of the city. Looks not so good from top... who will believe that same communist in China turned the face of cities there.

[jaadu]

Originally Posted by zoxtannin

Good video, but sad to see unplanned growth covering major part of the city. Looks not so good from top... who will believe that same communist in China turned the face of cities there.

Most of the Chinese cities looked like this 20 years ago .. till the communists became the biggest capitalists in the world and razed everything to the ground and rebuild the city parts !! and BTW communists have ruled china for last 62 years so don't forget that for around 30-40 years they had destroyed much of china !!

Our so called communists are still sticking to their damn ideals

[Suncity]

Originally Posted by zoxtannin

Good video, but sad to see unplanned growth covering major part of the city. Looks not so good from top... who will believe that same communist in China turned the face of cities there.

It would look better with better camera and light. Be happy that you are not seeing kilometres and kilometres of slums instead of unplanned apartment blocks.

And no, the Bengal communists are not the same as the Chinese communists, just as the Indian capitalists are not of the same quality as US capitalists.

:-)

[footballbengali]

Originally Posted by zoxtannin

Good video, but sad to see unplanned growth covering major part of the city. Looks not so good from top... who will believe that same communist in China turned the face of cities there.

I bet you wouldn't have said that if this video was taken from the right side of the plane. Because we all know what is there

[sidney_jec]

All images from Picassa community