JEDDAH: Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, signed a SR222 million contract for civil navigation radar systems with the Raytheon International Company of US, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.

According to the contract, the company will undertake the installation of new civilian air navigation systems over a period of 36 months. The systems include 21 radars that will be installed at various locations in the Kingdom. The system’s radars will cover the entire Saudi air space and detect aircraft at heights of 15,000 feet or above.

The company will also train technicians and engineers of the General Authority for Civil Aviation on the setting up of the system and its maintenance. It will also provide technical support for maintenance (third level) over the next 15 years.

Once the system is fully operational, it will enable Saudi air traffic controls to reduce the distance between two aircraft in the air, in turn enhancing airspace capacity for the simultaneous operation of more planes. It will also reduce the time needed for flights and thus save time and fuel.

In another development, the crown prince approved a contest called Prince Sultan Contest for simplified construction organized by the Saudi Council of Engineers.

The contest aims at finding a solution to the housing problem by introducing effective ways to lower construction cost for residential homes.