Malaysian DCA Assures ATC System is Safe

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Bernama) -- The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said on Tuesday that it had consistently given assurances that the newly upgraded air traffic control (ATC) system was safe to use. DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said there was no single incident that could be attributed to its deficiencies. "Some glitches, such as the inconsistency in 'cleared level', had been resolved much earlier this year. Now, there are only minor glitches that do not impair the safety of ATC operations. "However, the DCA is aggressively working on resolving these glitches based on priority, as soon as possible," he said in a statement here on Tuesday. He was commenting on a statement by PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar on Monday, pertaining to the Malaysian Air Traffic Services Modernisation Programme Improvement Project Phase 2 (MIP-2) awarded to Selex Sistemi Integriti. Azharuddin also stressed that the Certificate of Practical Completion (CPC) was signed and issued on Dec 21, last year after an extensive verification of the system and internal discussion with the end-users and stakeholders. "A consensus to sign the CPC was reached as no major glitch to the system was detected at that point of time," he said. He said it was very accurate that from its inception, the selection of Malaysia's radar system manufacturer was conducted via open tender. He said, in the case of the MIP-2 project, glitches still occurred despite the contractor working on its own technology. -- BERNAMA