FIJI Airports has signed a contract with global security screening provider Rapiscan Systems for the supply of four new Hold Baggage Screening (HBS) machines worth $10million for Nadi International Airport.
Fiji Airports CEO Mesake Nawari said this was part of efforts to upgrade its infrastructure to ensure it provided the best passenger experience to its visitors and the travelling public.
“The HBS equipment at Nadi Airport is at the heart of the operations for Fiji Airports at the terminal as its performance and efficiency directly affects all outbound passengers’ check-in baggage,” Mr Nawari said.
He said the new machines would also replace the three existing ones.
Mr Nawari said securing the services of Rapiscan to provide state-of-the-art products, solutions and services spoke volumes of the need to replace aging infrastructures, and roll out works included in the Nadi International Airport Master Plan.
“All the 3 existing machines are intended to be replaced as part of this planned upgrade as we face a lot of downtime and maintenance-related issues with the existing HBS system as parts of the machines have gone past their design life,” he said in a statement.
“All machines are planned to be replaced with new ECAC Standard 3 and TSA 7.2 compliant machines.
“We are excited to get this going and today’s signing is just one of the number of projects that we are rolling out in replacing aged infrastructures to imp[rove passenger experience and on time performance of the airlines at the Nadi Airport.”
Mr Nawari said works on this project was expected to be completed in two stages, with the primary screening machine TX1 planned to be replaced as part of Stage 1 works around November this year, while the remaining screening machines will be replaced as part of Stage 2 works.
He added the machines for stage two were proposed to be delivered on a delated or staged delivery approach because the second batch of machines for stage two would not be required for installation until 2027.
Rapiscan Manager Sales Matthew Wright said they looked forward to delivering this critical project for Fiji Airports.
Mr Wright said the contract also included training local staff and maintenance team in handling and management of those assets.
Mr Nawari and Mr Wright signed the contract in Nadi on Tuesday.
