As per the government’s aim to make the country an aviation hub, finally it is going to construct a maritime airport runway which will allow operating wide-bodied aircraft and increase international connectivity.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the runway expansion work officially today (Sunday). The project has been undertaken at a cost of Tk 1568 crore to upgrade the Cox’s Bazar airport to an international airport. The project is scheduled to be completed within 33 months.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) informed that the aviation hub will be built around Cox's Bazar Airport. State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism said that such an initiative has been taken to bring wide-boied aircraft from all over the world to Cox's Bazar.
The runway at Cox’s Bazar Airport is 9,000 feet. It is being expanded to 1,700 feet. Of the total runway, 1300 feet will be built above the sea.
As per information, GEO tubes below the ocean will be set up, later through dredging process water will be drawn out from that demarcated area. Then excavation work will begin after removal of the clay level. Following this sand filling work will take place, several layers of sand filling work will be done to fill up the demarcated area for the runway.
This will create a runway and a dam to protect it from the sea. This will be followed by the decoration of the runway and installation of indicator lights.
Cox’s Bazar Airport authorities said Cox’s Bazar Airport is going to have the first largest runway in the country. Through this the world’s largest aircraft will be able to land here.
Once the project is implemented, new generation aircraft like Boeing 777-300 ER, 747-400 and Airbus will be able to take off and land easily. The cost of the project is Tk 1568.86 crore which is entirely being financed by CAAB.
CAAB chairman Air vice Marshal Mafidur Rahman after visiting the project area on Friday said, “The project is being expanded at the instruction of the prime minister. If the runway is expanded, the country’s tourism and finance sectors will change drastically.”
Mafidur Rahman further said, “As soon as the runway expansion work of Cox’s Bazar Airport is completed, a spacious Airbus like 360 will be able to take off and land here”.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the expansion work of the airport through video conference today (August 29). The Cox’s Bazar city is buzzing with festive mood surrounding this runway expansion. LED screens have been installed at every corner of the city so that general people could enjoy the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, on Friday, state minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali visited the Cox’s Bazar Airport.
He said, “Various development work are underway to make Cox’s Bazar an international tourist destination. One of them is the development of the airport. When the ongoing work is completed, the size of the runway will increase and the airport will be a sophisticated and attractive one.”
