Indra will modernise the systems of Colombia's Eldorado International Airport for $30 MILLION

Colombia's Aerocivil, a state organisation responsible for controlling and regulating civil aviation in the nation, has awarded Indra a contract for the acquisition, installation and start-up of communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS-ATM) systems for Eldorado International Airport (Bogotá). The total contract amount is $30 million.

The new systems guarantee the efficient management of the nation's air traffic control, enabling significant savings for airline companies, significantly reducing the environmental impact of air operations, and complying with the most demanding air navigation safety standards.

This contract is the largest of its type to be awarded in Latin America so far this year. Indra was one of the three companies in the world capable of meeting the strict technical requirements for the bid. The project stands out because it incorporates the most advanced technologies in a wide array of systems.

Indra will implement the air traffic management systems for the Bogotá control centre as well as the tower systems for Eldorado airport.

The contract's scope also includes implementing controller-pilot radio communications systems as well as an Instrument Landing System (category III ILS) that enables aircraft to land in conditions with nearly zero visibility.

The control tower will also have a level 2 (the highest level certified by Eurocontrol) automated system for monitoring and guiding aircraft movements throughout the aerodrome's roadway surface area (A-SMGCS). For this, Indra will install a surface radar in the control tower, ADS-B stations and a multilateration network that also covers the airport's approach. These are the most modern technologies for determining aircraft positions with precision.

In terms of the Bogotá control centre, it will be equipped with 34 controller positions and the latest technology for preventing conflicts and managing air traffic flows using automatic arrival and departure management tools (AMAN and DMAN).

The new centre is expected to begin operating in August 2014 once construction work has been completed on the new tower and the Colombian aeronautical management centre.

This contract allows Indra to consolidate its position as a provider of the main ATC systems in Colombia. In 2000, the company was responsible for putting into operation Bogotá's existing control centre, which will now be replaced. Before that, the company had already implemented its air traffic management system in the Cali and Villavicencio control centres, along with IP communications systems. Indra also renewed the systems for the Leticia control centre (located in the Amazonas region) and equipped the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority with surveillance and control systems. It also established a simulation centre in Bogotá's air controller academy.

Indra is a leading company in the supply of Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems. With more than 90 years of experience, it has completed more than 3,000 installations in more than 140 countries. In Latin America, Indra's technology manages the airspace of Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The Central American Upper Airspace Control Centre (CENAMER), which belongs to the Central American Corporation for Air Navigation Services (COCESNA), also operates using Indra systems. In addition, the company has completed ATM projects in Brazil and Chile.

Indra in Colombia

Indra is one of the three leading information technology companies in Colombia. It has more than 2,000 professionals and offices in Bogota, Barranquilla and Medellin, a Centre of Excellence in Bucaramanga, as well as two Software Labs (in Bogotá and Pereira) that handle the country's needs and have been established as service centres for all of Latin America.

The company is a technological provider for the energy companies Isagen and Empresa de Energía de Cundinamarca (EEC). It has also sold its technology to Ecopetrol, the largest company in Colombia and the number four oil firm in Latin America. Another important reference is the implementation of the system that currently manages the Medellín subway. The company is also implementing its traffic and transport control systems in this city. Lastly, Indra has been responsible for the global outsourcing of the technological infrastructure for the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare and of the SAYP Consortium, among other key customers.

Indra

Indra is one of the world's largest consultancy and technology multinationals, a leader in Europe and Latin America and is expanding in other emerging economies. Innovation is the cornerstone of its business, which is highly focussed on the customer and on sustainability. The multinational is one of the leaders in its sector in Europe in terms of investment in R&D and innovation, having invested more than €550M in the last three years. With sales approaching €3,000 million, it employs 42,000 professional and has customers in 128 countries.