KATHMANDU: Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is currently undergoing infrastructure enhancements to increase its storage capacity for maintaining CCTV footage for a duration of up to 90 days.
According to TIA-based Civil Aviation Office Director General, Pratap Babu Tiwari, this initiative, aims to bolster surveillance capabilities at the airport.
The move comes in the wake of a significant event on December 7, where airport authorities intercepted 14 kilograms of gold carried by Chandra Ghale through a Fly Dubai flight. Subsequently, the airport’s customs office formed an inspection committee led by Chief Customs Officer Mani Ram Poudel.
However, during the investigation, the committee encountered a setback as the Airport Authority provided only 21 days’ worth of CCTV footage, hampering the inquiry process. This discrepancy was flagged and detailed in the committee’s report submitted to the customs office.
Prompted by subsequent media coverage, the Aviation Office issued a clarification on the matter. Tiwari explained, “The delay in extending the storage capacity beyond 21 days initially was due to the installation of 36 hard disks with a total capacity of 16 TB. Nevertheless, ongoing efforts have now increased the storage capacity to 61 days, up from the initial 21 days.”
Highlighting the financial aspect, Tiwari mentioned that TIA had sought budgetary allocations from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) in the fiscal year 2078/79 to expand the storage capacity to accommodate three months’ worth of footage. However, owing to budget constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this request couldn’t be prioritized.
Efforts towards expanding the storage capacity saw progress with established procurement procedures. A meeting chaired by the Chief of the Airport Authority on October 14 furthered the development of capacity expansion.
Currently, TIA boasts a surveillance network comprising over 500 CCTV cameras installed throughout the airport premises.
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