Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, the busiest airport in Bangladesh, is all set to get a new terminal. The airport authorities had announced that the new terminal will be inaugurated in October but it will take another year to start its operation.
The construction work of the third terminal had begun quite some time ago and till now it has achieved 60 percent progress in its construction work.
Air Vice M Mofidur Rahman, chairman of Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh has said, “We are ahead of our construction work schedule and we are optimistic that we will be able to partially inaugurate the third terminal in coming October. Full-fledged operation will start sometime next year. At that time both passenger and air carrier handling capacity will be increased.”
While visiting the construction area recently it was found that the magnificent terminal building is already visible. Now the interior decoration and installation of various appliances is going on.
CAAB information showed that it will be possible to serve another 12 million passengers once the third terminal is opened. Now 21000 passengers are being serving daily through existing two terminals.
The new terminal was a welcome development, as the airport had been facing capacity constraints for some time now. With the increasing number of passengers, the existing terminals were struggling to keep up with the demand. The new terminal would not only increase the airport’s capacity but also provide passengers with a better travel experience.
The construction work had progressed steadily, and the airport authorities were happy to announce that it had achieved 60 percent progress. The terminal's design was modern and spacious, with state-of-the-art facilities and technologies that would make the passengers' travel experience comfortable and convenient.
In this terminal of 5,42,000 square meters, aprons (place to park planes) have been made to hold 37 planes at a time. The terminal building will be of 2,30,000 square meters which will have the touches of all the significant and sophisticated technologies of the world.
There will be a rapid exit and connecting taxiway and main road beside Le Meridian Hotel to enter the airport. Besides, a subway will be built to connect the Dhaka Elevated Expressway with the airport. The project was approved by ECNEC in October, 2017.
Earlier in 2015, the feasibility study report on the third terminal was presented to Prime Minister’s Office. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the authorities concerned to implement the project as soon as possible. Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport would be able to handle 0.8 million passengers and 0.2 million tonnes of cargo annually.
