The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) has taken six mega projects worth about Taka 20,000 crore in hand which would significantly improve domestic as well as international aviation services. Most of the project works involve improving arrival and departure lounges so that passenger capacity improves to a large extent.
Air Vice Marshall M Naim Hasan, Chairman of CAAB while speaking to Bangladesh Post said, “We are mostly focusing on capacity increasing facilities of the airports like in Saidpur, Jessore and Barisal. All the facelift works of the airports is intended to facilitate the rising number of domestic as well as international passengers.”
Hasan said, “We have already started building new lounges for arrival and departure at Cox’s Bazar while the existing runway would also be extended to allow international flights to touch down at Cox’s Bazar.” He continued, “The work on the 3rd terminal building of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airportwould considerably increase passenger capacity including modernizing the existing facilities there”
The lion’s share of the total project fund would be spent on constructing the new or the 3rd terminal building of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. It would cost an estimated Tk 14,000 crore.The next biggest expenditure is on run way extension and constructing the new arrival and departure lounges in Cox’s Bazar where initiation works are already underway. It would cost an estimated Taka 3,700 crore.
Sylhet MAG Osmani International Airport would have a new terminal building to cope with the rising pressure of international as well as domestic passengers. It would cost about Tk 400 crore to build the new terminal lounge. In addition the same airport’s runway would be widened, extended and overlaid at a cost of Tk 450 crore to allow more aircrafts to touch down in Sylhet. With the same amount of fund (Tk 450 crore) the airport would also have a new general hanger terminal.
The Hazrat Shah Amanat International Airport at Chottogram would also have a runway extension and overlaying at a cost of Tk 400 crore. Another project worth Tk 500 crore to construct hanger in Chottogram Airport to park big aircrafts is in progress. Jessore and Saidpur airports would have new terminal buildings for increasing passenger capacity. Tk 106 crore is allocated for Jessore Airport while Saidpur airport would get Tk 96 crore for building new terminal and parking additional aircrafts (2) while another Tk 30 crore is allocated for renovation and modernization of the existing airport building.
Besides, construction of a new airport named Khan Jahan Ali Airport at Khulna is in the plan. The CAAB sources said that tender has been floated against many of the works while international consultants and architects are working on the pending works which are in their final stages. The authorities at CAAB said that the projects also include security enhancement like buying cargo scanners, installing new scanning machines especially at international airports and installing state of the art cameras and training personnel on safety and security of airports. Most of the terminal buildings and tarmac overlaying works would be completed by 2023.