ASECNA, ICAO sign technical assistance pact

Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - The Agency for Aerial Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have signed a technical assistance agreement under which the agency will acquire material for air traffic management at the cost of FCFA 25 billion (US$50 million).

According to a statement issued by ASECNA. the pact was signed in Senegal's capital, Dakar, by ASECNA Director-General Amadou Ousmane Guitteye and the Director of the ICAO Technical Cooperation, Mr. Ivan Galan.

The pact paves the way for the implementation of a project on the acquisition of state-of-the-art radars and air traffic management systems to benefit operational centres located in 11 ASECNA member states.

"This project will enable ASECNA to achieve, in the short term, its ambition to use the monitoring means needed to visualize air traffic in all areas under its control. Member States which are not covered by the agreement have already been equipped with such systems," the statement said, adding that the project is the result of the implementation of the programme for the renewal of ASECNA, a major project launched on 1 Jan. 2011 with the aim of modernizing the agency.

The statement said the agreement signed with ICAO would also enable ASECNA to strengthen its standing in Africa and improve its performance in carrying out its primary mission which is providing air navigation services.

Based in Dakar and established in 1959,  ASECNA  has 18 member countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal, Chad and Togo.

On its part, ICAO, a specialized agency of the UN, brings together 190 member countries and is based in Montreal, Canada.
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