Six international companies are bidding to outfit Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) with a new radar system, Guardian Business can reveal.
Roscoe Perpall, president of Bahamas Air Traffic Controllers Union (BATCU), noted that the government is trying to secure a $50 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to purchase a new radar and communication system to improve services at LPIA.
So far, Perpall said he is pleased with how negotiations have been going and once approved, Perpall estimates that the new equipment could be in place within the next year and a half.
"The government is still in the process of trying to secure the new radar and communication system for the LPIA as well some further expansion to the air traffic service throughout the entire Bahamas," according to Perpall.
"That process involves a $50 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank. We are now considering six bids from international companies towards the purchase of the radar. I can't say for sure when this process will be completed but it is underway. At the end of the process, one of the bidders will be chosen. The radar should be in place somewhere within a year to a year-and-a-half of the contract being awarded."
He shared with Guardian Business that the $50 million price tag would be inclusive of the full installation of the radar in Nassau and some will be directed to continued improvement in Abaco and other Family Islands.
"That negotiation has been quite favorable. I don't see any obstacle to concluding those negotiations. As far as I know, everything is going smoothly," Perpall noted.
However, the BATCU chief admitted that the only delay that's being experienced in negotiations is the bidding process. According to Perpall, it was back in 2000/2001 when the government purchased a $10 million radar for the airport that was never used.
Recognizing that, Perpall said the government is being extremely cautious not to repeat that mistake this time around.
"The government is not in the mind set of repeating the mistake it made several years ago when the last radar that was purchased for the airport and never used. So they are being very careful and taking both local and international advice including persons from the air traffic controllers to make sure that we do not repeat the same mistake," he explained.
"I think the government at that time spent in the neighborhood of $10 million for NASAR radar. It was purchased between 2000 and 2001. It wasn't delivered until 2003/2004. It was never used because it did not meet the requirements and was not a proper one for our particular environment. With all of the testing that was done, it could not provide the service that we needed in Nassau."
Perpall's comments to Guardian Business come not long after Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe declared that his ministry hopes to attract more than two million airlift passengers to The Bahamas. The country received a total of 1.34 million stopover tourists through last year.
He believes once the new equipment is in place and the necessary improvements are made to the country's main gateway, LPIA should be capable for handling more than 900 aircrafts on a daily basis.

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