São Tomé Radio Relay Station provides
broadcasts to Africa

The remote island of São Tomé lies approximately 300 miles south of Nigeria and 200 miles west of Gabon in the Gulf of Guinea. The Voice of America (VOA) Radio Relay Station located on São Tomé makes it possible for the VOA to air programs in Africa and the Middle East.

Hanson was responsible for the complete design and integration of the entire facility including broadcast antenna arrays, transmit and receive satellite antennas, transmitter/administration building, primary power plant and fuel storage tanks.

This project included planning, providing construction support, investigating the site, preparing design and construction documents, maintaining cost and schedule control and integrating the systems and equipment.

Here are additional highlights:

• The primary power plant has five 950-kilowatt engine generator sets that operate at 330 volts, 3-phase/50 Hz.
  
• The facility has an offshore fuel supply pumping system with two 250,000-gallon fuel storage tanks.
  
• Shielded enclosures within the building eliminate infiltration of RF energy.
  
• Remote control and monitoring systems are used for all critical equipment.

During this project, Hanson integrated various broadcast subsystems into the station’s facilities. These subsystems included transmitters, antenna system, control and monitoring system, satellite TVRO and receive-only equipment. Project required specialized expertise with RFI/EMI suppression and included shielded control room, workshop and specialized grounding and power systems.

Throughout the design-build process, Hanson met each design submission schedule, provided frequent in-progress design documents and integrated the VOA’s requirements into the completed construction documents. The project was designed and constructed under the fast-track process. Hanson Engineers provided ongoing construction support services to the design-build contractor and reviewed shop drawings, selected equipment for the vendor and tested equipment.