J. R. Armenteros – ITRANSPORTE

Two decades on the African continent

J. R. Armenteros — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 22:05:57 +0000

Africa was the location of one of Ineco’s first projects abroad: in 1975, the company, then a small consultancy firm made up of a small group of engineers from Renfe, was preparing a feasibility study for the Kindu-Kisangani railway line in the former Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ineco, which began its aeronautical operations in Africa in the early 2000s, has carried out projects to improve and expand airport infrastructure, navigation systems and airspace management in various countries across the continent. One particularly noteworthy example, due to its condition as a group of islands, is Cape Verde, where Ineco has carried out numerous projects.

A study of the procedures and modes of operation at the São Filipe aerodrome on the island of Fogo is currently underway. Ineco is preparing a review of obstacles and safety in relation to the introduction of night operations and instrument flight conditions, and is designing the instrument flight procedures. Another recent project in the archipelago was a study, carried out in 2019, for the installation of an ILS (Instrument Landing System) at São Vicente’s Cesaria Évora airport, one of the country’s four international airports.

Members of the Ineco team at the opening of the new Boa Vista airport terminal (2007).

The first projects in Cape Verde date back to 2003, with the project and management of the new Boa Vista international airport, which opened in 2007. Since then, a large number of studies, projects and supervision of subsequent improvement works have been carried out. These include the review of the master plans of Sal, Boa Vista, Praia and São Vicente, in 2012, easement studies, technical and economic feasibility analysis of night operation in Boa Vista and São Vicente. In 2014, ASA also commissioned Ineco to draw up the master plans for three domestic airports: Maio, Sâo Nicolau and Fogo, and between 2015 and 2018, the management of the expansion of the passenger terminals at the international airports of Boa Vista and Sal.

Ineco has also carried out its aeronautical activity on the African continent in a half-dozen other countries. In 2015, it worked on updating the air traffic management system for the state-owned Airports of Mozambique (ADM). The company provided support services for the design of ATM systems in the specification of equipment and systems and also provided support for their subsequent deployment.

In 2012, as a result of an intergovernmental collaboration agreement between Spain and Angola, Ineco formed part of the Aena Internacional team that, over the course of a year, developed physical and operational security procedures for the airport of Luanda, the country’s capital. Airport staff were also trained and a quality assurance plan was introduced using indicators, similar to the one applied by Aena at its airports.

In Morocco, between 2011 and 2012, Ineco was part of the consortium that carried out the Study, analysis and reorganisation of Morocco’s airspace project that was included in the country’s Strategic Plan to boost its tourism industry. At the same time, the company carried out a capacity study for the Moroccan Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the Mohammed V airport terminal building in Casablanca.

Ineco’s first project in Egypt was awarded in an international tender in 2010, when the Egyptian Company for Airports and Air Navigation (EHCAAN) selected the company to develop a strategic plan for the country’s civil aviation. The plan included an analysis of the CNS/ATM infrastructure, the proposal of a new airway network, the definition of a modernisation plan for navigation systems and the development of specifications for a new air traffic control system for the Cairo Control Centre.

In 2009, in Kenya, the company reviewed and updated the expansion project of the Jomo Kenyatta airport in Nairobi. Due to the strong growth in traffic volume up to that point, the airport operator had to revise its planned expansion project. This plan was opened to international tender and awarded to Ineco in 2008. Works included a traffic demand forecast through 2030, the computer simulation of passenger, baggage and aircraft flows –both of the airport’s current situation and future forecasts– and the assessment and proposal of recommendations to optimise the capacity and functional, economic-financial, architectural and operational safety viability of the expansion project.

In 2009, Ineco designed the improvement and extension of the airfield at Walvis Bay airport for the Namibian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, for which it also drafted the basic project for a new passenger terminal.

The potential of the African market

Now well into the 21st century, air transport, linked primarily to the growth of tourism, has proved vital to many African economies. In November 2019, the ICAO noted “the crucial importance” of air transport liberalisation in Africa for the achievement of the sustainable development goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, as well as its role as a driver of employment, capable of generating “9.8 million jobs by 2036”, although already in 2018 it estimated that “due to the recent and effective liberalisation of air transport globally, many airport hubs in Africa will be saturated by 2020”. It further noted that “the growth of air traffic in this continent can only be sustainable if the aviation infrastructure in the region is optimised”.

Even with these challenges, the potential of the African aviation sector, which was already showing positive signs before the health crisis, is strong. Forecasts by organisations such as the International Monetary Fund suggest that from 2021 onwards, in emerging and developing countries, which have suffered a “less severe” economic impact from the pandemic, GDP will grow by more than 5%, more than the averages for the world and the large advanced economies.

A new life in Nairobi for Mallorca’s trains

J. R. Armenteros — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 13:39:34 +0000

In 2012, Nairobi, the capital of Kenya and one of Africa’s major cities, reopened its railways after a century, with its first commuter line connecting the capital to the Syokimau neighbourhood in the south, which saw the construction of the first new railway station in 80 years. It was the first step to giving the city and its suburbs an accessible, efficient mass public transport system that will help to reduce congestion. Growth of the population –some four million people in 2019– has stimulated the use of private vehicles and the city’s popular minibuses, known as ‘matatus’, which operate as shared taxis.

For this reason, work is underway for the Development of Commuter Rail Master Plan for the Nairobi Metropolitan Region, and aims to make rail the alternative mode of transport for the 13 million people that the World Bank, which is supporting the project, estimates will live the city by 2030 (increasing to 22 million in 2045). By then, it is expected there will be a total of six commuter lines, with 163 kilometres of track, 53 stations and 1.4 million daily passengers.

The first actions recommended by the Master Plan include the purchase of rolling stock, improvements and outfitting of the existing workshop, works to improve the condition of stations and renovate the track, and obtaining technical support for the inspection, commissioning and operation of the new trains.

This final task is the one undertaken by Ineco for Renfe, which worked with its Kenyan counterpart –Kenya Railways– and the overall authority for Nairobi’s commuter network, NAMATA (Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority), on the acquisition of rolling stock in Spain, also including the supply of spare parts and staff training. With the support of Spain’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (via ICEX) and Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, Kenya signed a contract in 2019 with SFM (Mallorca Rail Services) for the purchase of 11 diesel twin units and one trailer. Specifically, the units are Series 6100 units manufactured by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) in the period 1994-2003, of which the first batch of five units has already been shipped to Kenya.

The units, which were withdrawn from service by SFM following the completion of the electrification of its network, have been reconditioned to extend their useful life by at least 25 years. Ineco carried out the pre-shipping inspection of the units, which departed from the port of Barcelona. Inspection included verification of the list of spare parts requested by Kenya Railways for maintenance of the fleet and checking the condition of the spare parts; inspection and recording the results of static and on-track tests carried out by SFM; visual and documentary review of the units and the reconfiguration of the Automatic Train Stop system (ATS) to factory settings, following the static and on-track tests.

CAF’s Series 6100 trains are equipped with two Cumins NTA-855-A diesel engines, one at each end, compressed air brakes and double doors on both sides. They can reach a top speed of 110 km/h. They measure 15.5 metres in length, 3.7 metres high and 2.5 metres wide and have a maximum capacity of 252 passengers: 156 standing and 96 seated. They have space for bicycles and door-closing warning alarms. A total of 52 were manufactured. They first entered service on the rail network in Mallorca in June 1995. They were retired progressively as the network was electrified and ran on the island for the last time in May 2019. In 2015, SFM sold 12 units to the French railways. In their new home in Kenya, the units will cover various routes from Nairobi to Syokimau, Embakasi, Thika, Kikuyu and Kitengela.

Experts in rolling stock

Reconditioning is an option that allows many railway operators to upgrade their fleets with quality rolling stock at a lower cost and more quickly than with new vehicles, because trains are manufactured upon request using components from many manufacturers and to each customer’s specification. Hence the need for different adaptations to ready them for alternative uses, in addition to the usual tests before commissioning, which require the supervision of expert technicians.

Ineco has over 20 years’ experience in Spain and abroad in the supervision and validation of more than 1,500 trains of every type, both new and reconditioned. The reconditioned trains it has worked on include the 49 NS74 Alstom trains manufactured in the 1970s for the metro in Santiago de Chile; and the three TD 2000 series locomotives manufactured in Spain in 2006 by Ingeteam, when they were no longer required by Basque operator Euskotren, they were purchased by Ecuador to outfit the new line between Durán and Quito.

Ineco returns to Kuwait Airport to direct its expansion

J. R. Armenteros — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 15:08:55 +0000

The expansion includes, among other works, the construction of a new 700,000 m² terminal building (the main purpose of this contract, and whose construction began in 2017), the extension of the two runways, the construction of a new third runway, a new control tower, and the construction of the associated infrastructure on the land and air sides of the airport. This award will enable Ineco to participate in one of the most emblematic airport projects in the Middle East. Ineco, the leader of the consortium, together with its local partners, the Kuwaiti firms KUD (Kuwait United Development) specialising in project management, and the engineering and architecture firm Dar al Jazera Consultants, will coordinate the work of the many consultants and contractors from various countries involved in the works, which will increase the airport’s capacity to 25 million passengers, which in a second phase that is being considered would raise capacity to 50 million in its final stage.

For Ignacio Alejandre, ORAT project manager, “the contract is a major challenge for Ineco. Its complexity and scope will demand the best of the team on the ground and support from all areas of the company.” Ineco previously worked at this airport between 2011 and 2016, carrying out project management tasks and updating the 2010 Master Plan for the Kuwait Civil Aviation Authority.

Project head Angel Toro stresses that “in terms of airports, this is one of the most ambitious projects underway in the world today. It will be a highly motivating challenge for a team of between 40 and 50 people, and will enable Ineco to be a key player in the development of this airport.”

Division of the works into three main packages

Due to the large number and magnitude of the planned works, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Public Works has divided the works into three main packages, which will be tendered separately: the first package includes the new main terminal building, a central plant building for power and chilled water, another for the water supply and an utility tunnel that will connect the terminal building with the future cargo area of the airport. The second is a car park with 5,200 spaces (a total area 325,000 m²), landscaping, an underground sewage treatment plant, the new access roads and four storm water storage tanks. The third package includes the main apron, new taxiways, several tunnels that will connect the new terminal with the rest of the facilities and a consolidation centre between the landside and airside, which will include waste management facilities, storage dedicated for the retail shops and facilities for the Ministry of the Interior and Custom Control.

The expansion includes, among other works, the construction of a new 700,000 m² terminal building, the extension of the two runways and a new control tower, which will increase the capacity to 25 million passengers

Under this contract, with a completion time of 50 months, Ineco will also provide ORAT (Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer) services for the last two years, which include the planning, validation and execution of live exams called ‘trials’ of all the systems and procedures for the terminal prior to its commissioning, as well as personnel training, to ensure that the opening of the new facilities goes smoothly. The company has extensive experience in ORAT in major airports in Spain – Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Valencia, Alicante, etc. – and other countries – Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Newark (USA), etc.

Signing of the contract by the Spanish commercial attaché in Kuwait, Francisco J. Medina, on behalf of Ineco.

Kuwait International Airport, which went into operation in 1961, is located in Farwaniyah, 16 kilometres south of the capital, Kuwait City. It has two parallel runways of 3,400 and 3,500 metres in length and 11 aircraft parking aprons and two control towers: a main tower, located between the two runways, and an apron movement control tower. The main passenger terminal shaped like an airplane was designed in 1979 by the famous Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. The airport also has other terminal buildings serving Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways. The airport also houses a military base, a general aviation terminal opened in 2008 and a restricted access terminal reserved for the Head of State, the Emir of Kuwait.