It's an illuminating experience for Jim Wynne -- a bright spot in a job that has taken him around the world.

It is also a job that cannot be taken lightly as airline pilots place faith in the skill of the technicians on the ground.

The job -- replacing, repairing and rehabilitating the lighting system at the airport, left in a relatively sorry state by the US Navy.

"This job is a real challenge. You never know what to expect, something new happens every day,'' said Mr. Wynne.

There are 80 kilometres of cable, thousands of lights, miles of runway -- and bomb proof fittings put in by the Navy to inspect, repair and replace.

"The old covers over electrical installations are bomb proof -- the Navy made everything bomb proof -- and the covers weigh as much as 900lbs,'' said Mr.

Wynne.

Work includes cleaning and up-grading some existing lights, replacing old ones, adding new signs like no entry signs at $7,000 a throw, putting in new windsocks and making sure the cables are in good shape.

New 80ft-tall lights are being added to the front of the airport to illuminate the area where aircraft sit and disembark passengers.

A new vault has been built to hold the electrical equipment and control of the lights is being centralised with the control tower.

The old vault had parts dating back between 40 and 50 years and the lights were controlled partly from the control tower and partly from the airport.

"Very little money was spent because the Navy knew it was leaving. It met military standards when they left but the airport did not meet civil aviation standards,'' said Mr. Wynne.

He works for Canadian-based Acres, which is overseeing the job although all the sub-contractors are Bermudian. The work will cost about $2 million and should be finished by March.

In the meantime the work should provide a bit of colour in St. George's as lights have to be tested for about two months once they are installed.

It's a sea of blue around the airport at the moment.

LIT WALK -- Jim Wynne sizes up the lights along the International Airport's runway.

DIGGING DEEP -- Workmen clean out and upgrade the old lighting systems left by the US Navy.

FOUNDATIONS -- Jim Wynne and Lester Nelson, Airport Operations deputy manager, stand by the foundation for an 80ft-high floodlight.