Indra says it has modernized the oceanic air traffic control center on Sal Island and the control towers in Santiago, Boa Vista, São Vicente and Sal with state-of-the-art technology, enabling the country’s National Airport and Air Safety Company (ASA) to manage a greater volume of traffic with safety and efficiency levels that surpass the international standards.
José Ulisses Correia e Silva, the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, opened the new facilities at a ceremony that took place on July 7 2023 in the presence of Carlos Jorge Duarte Santos, the Minister of Tourism and Transport, Alcindo Hemitério da Cruz Mota, Secretary of State for Finance, Julio Lopes, President of the Chamber of Salt, Jorge Benchimol Duarte, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aeroportos e Segurança Aérea, S.A., Ana Paredes Prieto, the Spanish Ambassador to Cape Verde, and Enrique Castillo, Indra’s ATM Sales Director.
The Indra executive declared that “this is undoubtedly a key milestone for global air navigation, given that the Sal Island oceanic control center is the final point of contact for aircraft crossing the Atlantic to America, and the renewal of its systems will have an immediate impact on the punctuality of operations at airports in America, Europe and Africa”.
According to Indra, the oceanic control center, like the country’s main airports, is already equipped with Indra’s ManagAir system, one of the most advanced air traffic automation solutions in existence. This is designed to reduce the controllers’ workload and facilitate interoperability with other control centers so that management becomes much more seamless and secure.
At the oceanic control center, it stated, the company has also implemented one of the most advanced voice communications systems over IP networks in existence, based on the latest version of the company’s renowned Garex solution to facilitate both ground-to-ground links between control centers and ground-to-air links with aircraft. “It’s the only fully digitized solution currently available on the market, thus ensuring the highest sound quality and the ability to scale the network and expand it in the future,” Indra stated.
ASA has also sought to reinforce the training of its controllers and technical personnel by entrusting Indra with the training of more than fifty of its professionals, who have completed an extensive preparation program lasting several months with the aim of maximizing their level of excellence. The company has also set up a control position at the Sal Island oceanic control center equipped with a simulation environment to give continuity to this training and validate any new software version before it enters service.
Furthermore, “the contract reinforces Indra’s position as a leading provider of air traffic systems on the African continent, with projects in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Indra noted.
Indra said it also has a close relationship with ASECNA (Agency for the Safety of Air Navigation in Africa and Madagascar) and has completed projects in 49 African countries, helping to modernize infrastructures that are key to the region’s development.
