Rhys Blakely

A Chinese group that plans to list in London next year will meet BAA, the airports operator, and the British Government this week to discuss supplying radiation scanners to UK airports.

Nuctech was spun out of Tsinghua University, an institution dubbed “the MIT of China”. It will also hold talks with British authorities on a system that detects liquid explosives and their components, which has been approved by the Home Office.

The group will give a debut to its radiation detector at this week’s Airport, Port and Transport Security Europe (APTS) exhibition at Olympia, London. The discussions over the system come after the death of Alexander Litvinenko, who allegedly was poisoned with the radioactive isotope polonium-210. The investigation surrounding Litvinenko’s death led to the grounding of three BA aircraft that had flown between London and Moscow, for radiation tests.

The incident was the latest in a series of terror alerts that have led to a boom in the security market as countries ramp up budgets. Fears over “dirty bombs” and the passage of rogue nuclear material have led to authorities considering making radiation testing a routine procedure, carried out with devices that resemble metal detectors.

Liang Yinpeng, the deputy general manager of Nuctech, said: “Our RM [radioactivity monitor] system will detect any attempt by a person to bring radioactive material through transport terminals, which might have benefited the UK in the recent poisoning case in London.”

Nuctech’s RM system starts at $150,000 (£76,000) for a model that can scan people and luggage. For $250,000 the company will supply a unit that can scan an object as large as a train. Interested groups are said to include the US Federal Aviation Administration and airports authorities in the Netherlands, France and Spain.

BAA, whose airports include Heathrow and Gatwick, says that its security spending runs to “hundreds of millions of pounds”, but keeps details secret. A spokesman for the group said that it “holds its ear to the ground” for new technology developments, but that suppliers and standards are set by the Government. BAA’s security budget “has risen quite significantly” since August, he added, as the company installs 17 new passenger lanes at its airports across the UK and recruits 500 security staff Nuctech may list on AIM next year and would join about 45 Chinese companies on the London market. The group, which claims to have the largest manufacturing base for X-ray inspection systems in the world, says that it achieved revenues of about $200 million from 40 territories last year. It has 1,200 employees.

Last month Nuctech signed a contract with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to supply container and vehicle inspection systems to British ports. The deal was the first between HMRC and a Chinese firm. Its system for detecting explosive liquids — the LS8016 — is used in several airports in China.

This summer’s alerts, sparked by fears that terrorists would use liquid explosives on transatlantic flights, led to severe delays at UK airports. Last month, British Airways said that the alarm had cost it £100 million and prompted a 27 per cent slump in its pre-tax profits in the second quarter.

Mr Liang said: “Following with the current restrictions in the UK on carrying liquids on to aircraft, we believe that the adoption of the LS8016 will allow hand and aircraft-hold luggage to be scanned faster and more thoroughly. We also hope that this will result in a relaxing of these restrictions causing a great inconvenience to customers, without compromising security.”

Walk this way

A larger radiation detector, which can process objects as big as a train, has a list price of $250,000

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