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Update: Saturday, 15 May 2010    

Aerial navigation union condemns the wastage of 15 million dollars

A deal to buy new equipments for airport security
Thursday May 18 2006.

A deal concluded by the national company for aerial navigation, concerning the purchase of aerial control equipments of ELS type, has triggered a huge controversy amongst the company’s union and executives.

The controversial thing about the deal is its cost that worth around 15 millions dollars for 29 ELS machines, in the same time that Algeria signed an engagement to get rid of this system in the benefit of the complete control through satellite GNSS, and this in accordance with the international organisation for civilian air navigation. The announcement of the winner company for the deal will take place before the end of May, and this after a bid which saw the participation a substantial number of European, Asian and American.

In an attempt to anticipate events, the national syndicate for electronic and aerial security technicians started, along with a number of senior staff, by contacting many official parties against what has been described as the tendency of the company to spend huge sums of money on equipments which are, internationally, doomed to be made out of use by 2012 at the latest.

The general secretary of the syndicate, Mr Bouni Achour, pressed on the fact that the deal to purchase the new equipment is not well studied, and that the purchase of 29 machines has no justification. And in its response to accusation aimed at the aerial navigation company, the general director Mr Hamed Abdelwahab unveiled to El Khabar the purchase of new equipments of ELS category is part of the ministry programme of 2006, and the emplacement of these machines will take place in the summer of 2007 at the latest. The same responsible added that the international organisation’s recommendations that Algeria work on the their basis, fixed a clause stipulating that the use of the new system is related to the start of the management of the usage of this system in the organisation itself, and thus the counties using this system would not be left as hostage to the countries that possess, exclusively, the right of the manipulation of this technology.

Mr Hamed Abdelwahab, justifies the purchase of ELS equipments saying that the use of global control through the satellite threatens the sovereignty of the countries on its aerial spaces, adding the international competitiveness in this matter is going on between USA, Russia and Europe, and this convinced us to stick to the previous system that helps our airports, and in the same time guarantees a high degree of security to plans that “ are using our aerial space and that are estimated at 148 thousand trips a year.

Attaf Keddara — El-Khabar

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