AN AIRSPACE control system that has already cost the taxpayer €17 million without actually working has been given one more chance to get it right, the House Watchdog Committee heard yesterday.
Technical problems have been preventing airspace control system LEFCO from operating since 2005, yet the government will give it one more chance before reporting it as a breach of contract.
MPs on the House Watchdog Committee were yesterday baffled to see the company had received so many chances to have the system up and running, with three trial runs failing so far.
Parliamentarians also wanted to know why the Civil Aviation Department had failed to implement a decision by the Communications Ministry to upgrade the current system at a cost of €500,000 – nothing compared to the €2.2 million that has so far been paid out for the LEFCO trial runs, renting buildings and equipment.
“I feel it is at least scandalous,” said DISY’s Soteris Sampson, who tabled the matter for discussion. “Since 2003 (when the contract was signed) and even before the tenders were opened for LEFCO, there were clear indications that the specific system from the specific company would not be able to operate in Cyprus and this was because similar systems in third countries installed by this company didn’t work.
“However the tenders were accepted, and while the system should have been up and running in 2005, we are in 2011 and last Sunday, after many postponements offered to the company to fix the continuous problems in LEFCO’s operation, the system failed to work again.”
Sampson said six and a half years’ of failed trials was going too far.
“The non-operation of LEFCO until today, not only creates problems in airspace circulation, not only does it endanger Cyprus’ FIR (flight information region) from Turkish intervention, it has so far taken almost €17 million from Cypriot taxpayers,” he pointed out. He clarified that this money – minus interest – was guaranteed and would be returned to the state if the contract is broken.
Sampson added that the contract signed with the specific company had been altered five times in a bid to help it operate the system.
Technicians informed the Committee that there are various technical problems preventing the system from operating and resulting in it crashing every time efforts are made to get it working.
The Communications Ministry’s permanent secretary, Makis Constantinides said the ministry had informed the company and the Cyprus Telecommunications Authortiy (CyTA, which is in charge of implementing the system along with Civil Aviation) that one last attempt would be given for the system.
Asked to expand on the arguments that led to the ministry suggesting another chance, Constantinides said the matter was “way too complicated and technical to explain”, but added that the company had so far coughed up €1.7 million in fines for delaying its implementation.
AKEL’s Panicos Hambas called for an administrative investigation into the reasons why the issue has been pending for so many years when the system should have been handed over in 2005.
“We want to find out why these postponements were given and why the company wasn’t reported for breach of contract,” said Hambas.
He also called for efforts to upgrade the current airspace control system.
Committee Chairman, DISY’s George Georgiou, wondered why a suggestion by CyTA to upgrade the current system, which was adopted by the Communications Ministry, had not been implemented by Civil Aviation.
“CyTA suggested it would cost around €500,000 to upgrade the current system; instead, €2.2 million has been wasted on efforts to put this failed system into operation,” said Georgiou.
EDEK’s George Varnava said he was baffled by the fact that saga had been going on for so many years. “We need to upgrade the current system so we don’t face problems in the future,” he said. “Immediately after this last chance has been given, the company should be reported for breach of contract.”
A date for the final trial run for LEFCO is expected to be announced today.
