NAMA goes for satellite-based navigation tools
By Wole Shadare
THE Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) has opted out of the terrestrial system for satellite-based navigation equipment in the nation's airspace under fresh efforts to boost safety in the air.
The agency which, however, is still worried by the level of funding of the industry has argued that the only way to ensure safety in Nigeria's airspace was for the Federal Government to adequately fund the sector.
NAMA's Managing Director, Alhaji Ibrahim Auyo, made the assertion in Lagos at the inaugural meeting of the newly constituted board and the management of the agency.
Auyo hinted that NAMA was finalising arrangements to transfer from the terrestrial to satellite-based navigational equipment, with the near completion of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Area Navigation (R-NAV), which have been approved by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
In the 2009 budget, the Federal Government allocated N20 billion to the aviation sector, an amount stakeholders have described as grossly inadequate for the operations and critical safety projects being handled by NAMA, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria.
Auyo said both the R-NAV and Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON), when operational, would give the country's airspace the security it had longed for.
He also said the Lagos and Abuja ends of the radar project would be commissioned this year, leaving the Kano and Port Harcourt ends to be completed next year.
Globally, countries are moving from the terrestrial navigational system to satellite-based systems because of inaccurate signals the ground-based navigation system gives in most cases.
The lack of functional radar at the airport, which fails intermittently, would make the new technology more attractive and safer for airlines.
Area Navigation (RNAV) permits aircraft operations on any desired course within the coverage of station-referenced navigation signals or within the limits of a self-contained system capability.
It also allows pilots to create a virtual waypoint anywhere along their route as long as they are within a certain distance of a Voice Omni-Directional Radio (VOR) and can still receive a signal from that VOR.
Chairman of NAMA, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, said one of the cardinal objectives of the President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua administration was to ensure aviation safety and security to meet global standards.
He said: "We are here to assist NAMA function efficiently. We are worried about incidents and accidents in the aviation industry. We are witnesses to the disasters and near disasters recorded in the sector, and we will pursue with vigour and make air travel enjoyable. We have to assist NAMA management on what has impeded it in its revenue generation drive and in its efforts to be financially independent."
