By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

EXECUTIVES from the Bahamas Aviation, Climate and Severe Weather Network Ltd (BACSWN) yesterday outlined a $427m plan to transform aviation safety and weather monitoring across the country, including the installation of 26 automatic weather observation systems (AWOS), 109 radars, and three monopulse secondary surveillance radars.

The technical details were disclosed during a radio interview.

Michael Strachan, BACSWN’s group financial advisor, said the systems will provide real-time weather data for every operational airport in The Bahamas. Only nine AWOS are currently in place.

“These installations are essential for the safe passage in and out of airports throughout The Bahamas,” Mr Strachan said. “They will deliver automatic weather information, including altimeter readings, that pilots rely on to ensure safe landings and departures.”

He said the radar systems will expand tracking across one of the busiest airspaces in the world, enhancing both flight safety and storm monitoring capacity.

Robert Dupuch-Carron, BACSWN’s founder, said the company has already invested about $4m to upgrade Department of Meteorology equipment. He stressed the initiative is privately financed.

“This is our intellectual property and our money,” he said. “We take the risk, but the benefits to the Bahamian people include safer skies, upgraded infrastructure and new opportunities for young professionals.”

The Tribune reported in May that the Davis administration signed a Heads of Agreement with BACSWN to create the region’s first NextGEN Meteorological Watch Office, part of the prime minister’s climate agenda and national infrastructure modernisation.

“This initiative aligns directly with the Prime Minister’s climate agenda,” Mr Strachan said. “It is about ensuring that The Bahamas has the technology and infrastructure to meet the challenges of climate change while maintaining the highest standards of aviation safety.”

BACSWN also said six aviation-grade ambulances have been ordered for Family Islands, with delivery expected before year’s end. Designed for mass-casualty scenarios, the vehicles will be financed through overflight fees once the network becomes operational.

Mr Strachan said nearly 700,000 flights cross Bahamian airspace annually, but only a fraction of allowable fees are collected. Restructuring those charges, he said, is key to sustaining the system and funding EMS capacity at Family Island airports.

He explained the proposed rate would be $750 per flight, with $500 going to government coffers. “When you break it down, it works out to two and a half cents per passenger per mile, so it is a nominal cost that will not impact airlines’ bottom line,” he said.

Education is another central feature of the project. BACSWN has pledged ten scholarships worth $25,000 each for Bahamian students in atmospheric science, with a goal of training more than 100 meteorologists within four years. Partnerships have already been struck with universities in the United States and South Africa.

Mr Dupuch-Carron traced the idea for the project back to Hurricane Joaquin, when he was in Crooked Island as storm surge approached.

“He asked how far I was from the ocean, and I told him about ten feet. He then asked how fast I could run. When I said pretty fast, he told me to run fast,” he recalled of his conversation with a meteorology official. He said the exchange exposed the lack of reliable forecasting data and convinced him of the need for stronger systems.

Regulatory filings are underway, and the upgraded Meteorological Watch Office is expected to be operational by January 2026.

Reflecting on the wider purpose, Mr Dupuch-Carron said: “We owe it to Bahamians to ensure the next generation has better tools to face climate change.”