KABUL - A new radar system, a 20 million euros project, was installed at the Kabul International Airport to ensure the safety of air traffic, a senior official said on Sunday.
A joint venture of Germany and Australia, the radar called "Amlat" would help ensure airspace safety, the acting transport and civil aviation minister, Daud Ali Najafi, told a news conference. The system has 30 antennas installed across the country, with the main control center in Kabul and an amplifier system in northern Balkh province, he said. The amplifiers will be used only when the main control center faces any problem.

Najafi added they would be able to watch and control planes flying over Afghanistan. Planes facing in-flight problems would be instructed through the system, he explained, hopping it would help boost government revenues. He said about 60 individuals had received training on how to run the system.

The transport and civil aviation ministry spokesman, Nangialai Qalatwal, said the installation process had been launched since 2009. German Ambassador Ruediger Koenig said Afghanistan could control its airspace through the new radar system, which would help spot planes entering the country's airspace and identify their flight origins.