Business news

MINSK, 4 November (BelTA) – Plans have been made to build a new air traffic control center in Belarus within two years, BelTA learned from Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Anatoly Kalinin after the ceremony held on 4 November to place a time capsule at the construction site.

According to the source, the facility will be built within two years for an optimum price. The bulk of the money will be spent on buying modern equipment. The Belarusian air traffic control enterprise Belaeronavigatsia will be the source of the money.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, the country needs a new air traffic control center because it will allow increasing the throughput capacity of the national air space in addition to making flights safer. “I have to say that the Belarusian aviation industry develops successfully. Flights are safe. Prices are getting slashed. New aircraft are bought. Modern infrastructure to offer quality service to passengers is being created,” stated Anatoly Kalinin.

Belaeronavigatsia Director General Leonid Churo said that the project will cost Br87.5 million. “We intend to use our own money and, naturally, loans. We earn money by offering aerial navigation services and expect the project to return the investment within roughly eight years,” he remarked. The executive said that the new Belarusian air traffic control center will be absolutely identical to European centers as far as the equipment and working conditions for specialists are concerned.

Representatives of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry explained that the new air traffic control center is supposed to become operational in Q4 2018. A land plot as large as 3.56ha has been allocated for the construction project. The facility will be located in Smolevichi District near the southern border of Minsk’s housing estate Sokol. About 400 people are expected to work there. Once the facility is operational, Belaeronavigatsia will no longer have to rent over 3,000m2 of premises from the Minsk National Airport.

Representatives of the Belarusian Transport and Communications Ministry explained that at present flights over Belarus are guided by the Minsk District air traffic control center and the air traffic control center in the airport. The company also has regional divisions located at other civilian airfields across the country. Once the new air traffic control center is commissioned, it will take care of all the international traffic as well as high-altitude traffic while the ATC centers located in the regions will guide flights within a 60-100km radius at altitudes up to 6,000m. “In essence the new air traffic control center will control the entire sky above Belarus,” stated the Belaeronavigatsia Director General.

The state-run enterprise Belaeronavigatsia offers air traffic control services. The available technical capability can satisfy needs of foreign air carriers. In 2015 the enterprise provided aerial navigation services to over 1,000 air carriers. The Belarusian air traffic control service had to take care of over 700 flights per day (at least 500 flights during the winter period and up to 950 flights during the summer period). Belaeronavigatsia earns the bulk of its revenues by offering air traffic control services to transit flights of foreign air carriers, which share stands at 84%.

At present there are 56 routes that air carriers can use to cross the Belarusian air space. Ten additional routes have been introduced since 2013, thus increasing the overall length of the network by 20%. The main users of the Belarusian air space are Russian air carriers (34% of the total) and European Union air carriers (32%). The Belarusian share is as small as 11%.