Pubdate:  Tue, 29 Jul 1997 

By William Schomberg     BRASILIA, July 28 (Reuter)  Brazil's plan to build
a $1.3 billion air surveillance and datacollecting system in the Amazon
rainforest is finally under way after the government authorized the first
payments, officials said on Monday. 

The controversial Amazon Surveillance System (Sivam), which involves the
installation of 19 radar stations, satellite communications systems and other
hightech equipment, has been stuck in the planning stages since it was first
proposed in 1990. 

"It's been a long time coming because it is a very big undertaking. But now
the bureaucratic steps have all been taken and work can begin," said Brazil
Air Force Col. Antonio Jose Faria dos Santos who is in charge of the project.

Brazil hopes the system will help it fight drug smuggling in its vast
rainforest and control unauthorized mining and farming which cause widespread
environmental damage. 

Sivam also is aimed at improving safety in the region for commercial air
traffic, monitoring meteorological conditions, tracking epidemics and
generally improving Brazil's control over its Western Europesized chunk of
the forest. 

The contract was awarded in 1994 to a group led by U.S. 

engineering and technology giant Raytheon Co. (A HREF"aol://4784:RTN:")