No matter the congestion issues plaguing the country's premiere airport, officials at the Department of Transportation and Communication said the P13.25 billion airport communication, navigation and surveillance systems for airports around the country should be up and running before 2016.

DOTC spokesman Michael Arthur Sagcal gave the assurance recently that the equipment should be installed and the key facilities come on stream around November 2015.

Sagcal said the DOTC has signed an agreement with the partners Sumitomo Corp. and Thales Australia Ltd. putting into place the first package of the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management Systems Development Project program or CNS/ATM Package 1 that seeks to modernize local aviation, flight management and related areas.

The new equipment would be state-of-the art and would not only lift aviation safety standards in the country's airports but should also enhance security capabilities, increase airport capacity, minimize flight delays, manage the use of airspace and traffic flow as well as enhance the communications and monitoring capabilities of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Sagcal also said.

“This project will bring the country closer to the highest of international aviation safety standards. Ultimately, it will also result in more revenues for the government, bolster the country’s tourism goals, and lower pollution emission levels through efficient air traffic management,” Sagcal said.

Sumitomo Corp. were to restart the construction of an air traffic management building and the supply of components as automated equipment and radar systems capable of linking to satellite-based technology.

The CNS/ATM project was designed to replace obsolete equipment and air traffic systems at selected airports in the country. State auditors in May 2011 halted the project by suspending the advance payment of P 58.92 million of Package 1 of the project which was awarded the contractors just the year before.

But after review, the project was restarted in May this year.*PNA

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