SEPTEMBER 2005.

By Armando Navarro, Business Development Manager.

ZORTEK SYSTEMS DEVELOPS IMPORTANT PROJECTS AT 'EL CIBAO' INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.

‘El Cibao' International Airport, located in Santiago de los Caballeros , Dominican Republic , has shown remarkable efforts to improve operational conditions with the project of enlargement of the facilities.These changes will be reflected in the capacity of the terminal while also increasing the quality of service given to users, passengers, and carriers.

ZORTEK SYSTEMS, a North American company specializing in Airport Automated Systems with headquarters in Miami (FL), has been selected by the Administration of “El Cibao” to provide and install three Passenger Boarding Bridges as well as a Common Use Platform for check-in areas – better known as Common User System, CUS, and a Local Departure Control System, LDCS (SEATS).

The enlargement of the Passenger Terminal Building has been proposed for the arrival and departure areas. Sites often crowded like the Waiting Rooms will count with more space for the daily users of the facility. This project comes in addition to the new operation system that will soon be implemented in the airport.

Knowing the actual needs for modern airports to operate and also knowing the specific needs of ‘El Cibao', three mobile boarding bridges are being installed in this terminal. ZORTEK SYSTEMS is assisting the Administration in the engineering phase, in order to improve the current facilities in which the bridges will operate. ZORTEK SYSTEMS has a strategic alliance with ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems U.S. (TKAS) for the integration of Boarding Bridges in Airport facilities.

With the implementation of the Boarding Bridges, passengers will have and easier and more comfortable transit between the airport and the aircrafts. This installation will also bring improvements in security and time, which will critically benefit airline operation at ‘El Cibao' increasing passenger security while lowering times in boarding and disembarking operations. Another great improvement when using mobile boarding bridges is the flexibility to use the platform for different types of planes.

One big step taken by the Administration is the suppression of the Rent System for Airline Check-in Counters. This system was very rigid to maintain, due to the growing number of airlines waiting to operate in this terminal.

ZORTEK SYSTEMS is also working in the design and installation of CUS / LDCS Systems. Some of the assignments for this project include system design, installation and coordination with each airline to begin operations with the emulators using their proprietary System. The installation also includes a training phase for operation and maintenance personnel at ‘El Cibao' and also for the operation personnel at each airline. The system must be fully commissioned and operating at the end of the contract. ZORTEK SYSTEMS maintains a strategic alliance with Ultra Electronics Airport Systems for integration of Check-In Systems such as CUS and LDCS (SEATS).

Some of the advantages for the Administration with the installation of these Systems will be appreciated when allocating a specific number of check-in counters according to the airline needs - such as the size of their aircraft, number of passengers, etc. It will also be easier to assign check-in counters to any airline working with charters and non-scheduled flights.

The installation of the system also offers the possibility for the Airport authorities to negotiate the arrival of new carriers and companies with regular and charter flights to the terminal, while implementing rigid plans for the actual carriers in the Rent of exclusive counters.

According to the scope of the project and projections made by the Airport Administration and ZORTEK SYSTEMS, all these systems and equipment shall be operating before the end of 2005.