Cairo witnesses the signature of the contract to install a Ranging and Monitoring Integrity Station (METIS) in Alexandria
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Le Passage Hotel
9:30 a.m
General Ahmed Shafiq, Minister of Civil Aviation of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Dr Klaus Ebermann, EU Ambassador to Egypt will open a regional workshop on Final Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Regional Plan at 9:30 a.m. on October 22nd, 2008 at le Passage Hotel near Cairo International Airport. This workshop is taking place in the framework of the Mediterranean Introduction of GNSS Services (METIS) project funded by the European Commission and aiming at scoping out the navigation infrastructure needs of the MEDA countries in order to better fulfill them through the introduction of the Global Navigation Satellite System Technology into transport and non transport domains.
This workshop will be attended by the National Coordinators of each of the 10 MEDA countries that are involved in METIS project as well as by a large number of participants form the Egyptian Civil Aviation Sector.
Parallel to this event, Minister Shafiq and Ambassador Ebermann will witness the signing of an important contract between NANSC and ESA to host in Alexandria the RIMS station (ground station part of a network to retransmit the GPS signals) needed to develop the European Navigation overlay Service System (EGNOS) and to provide for more GPS signal coverage in the region.
The installation of Ranging and Monitoring Integrity Station (RIMS) stations will make possible the use of the GPS signal to benefit form satellite positioning into safety-of –life transport applications (e.g. aviation, maritime). Another contract to install a RIMS station in Abu Simbel, in the South of Egypt is to be signed in the near future. Both stations in Alexandria and Abu Simbel will give considerable support to extend EGNOS coverage to South Eastern Europe and Euro Mediterranean areas including Egypt.
The development of the European navigational service system comes in the framework of the Euro-Med transport action plan approved by the European Commission and the MEDA countries in 2007. The Action plan aims at a better integration of the transport sector between Europe and southern Mediterranean partners. Prior to the action plan, a Euro-Med Cooperation Office representing Galileo in Egypt was inaugurated in 2004 with the aim of promoting the use of the GNSS technology in MEDA countries, implementing awareness activities to facilitate interaction between GNSS actors and ensuring flow and exchange of information within the MEDA region.