Home ›› 05 May 2023 ›› Back
The importance of air routes has increased in the last 10 years with the demand for air travel going up to deliver passengers and goods to their destinations as soon as possible.
To meet that rising demand, the Bangladesh government is constructing the Third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) to improve the country’s aviation sector and passenger service quality, considering various factors including geographical location.
About 70 per cent work of the project, which started in December 2019, has already been completed, according to the authorities concerned.
Stakeholders say the government is working to establish Bangladesh as one of the major regional aviation hubs in the Asia-Pacific region and the third terminal will help reach the desired target once it is fully operational.
It will also boost the airport’s income, which will play an important role in the country’s economy.
Currently, two terminals and one domestic terminal at HSIA serve about 80 lakh passengers annually. The third terminal is expected to raise that capacity to more than 2 crore, as well as will boost the aviation sector’s revenue growth, said the sector insiders.
According to the annual report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), their income has almost doubled in the last 10 years. In FY2011-12, CAAB earned Tk 731,05,00,000 and about Tk 1677,64,69,000 in FY2021-22. Over the past decade, CAAB’s annual average growth in revenue has been near 15 per cent.
CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman told The Business Post, “The third terminal project’s Phase-1 was supposed to be completed in April 2024, but we will be able to complete it by October and carry out a soft launch.
“Since we can’t become fully operational in one day, CAAB’s income will not double quickly. But the growth rate will continue to increase.”
Mafidur said HSIA’s current passenger handle capacity is around 80 lakh annually and it will gradually go up to 2 crore once the third terminal is operational.
Major infrastructure
According to a CAAB survey, HSIA handles nearly 70 per cent of all domestic and international flights in Bangladesh and plays an important role as a major infrastructure supporting the country’s rapidly growing economic activity.
HSIA handles approximately 75 per cent of the country’s total passenger demand and 90 per cent of the total cargo demand. Local airports such as Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Jashore and Sylhet handle the remaining demand. After the third terminal is finished, the range of services will increase further.
According to officials, more than 69 per cent of the new terminal’s construction work is already completed and the beautiful building’s structure is already visible. Interior decoration and installation of various appliances are ongoing now.
On various occasions in recent times, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali has said that the terminal’s construction is going on at a fast pace. It will be partially inaugurated in October and fully operational next year.
He also said that once the terminal is operational, air traffic will rise and the increased number of passengers will be able to enjoy the modern facilities.
According to CAAB, 120-130 flights of more than 30 airlines take off and land at HSIA every day and 19,000-21,000 passengers use the two existing terminals. At present, there is an opportunity to serve about 80 lakh passengers every year and it will be possible to serve another 1.2 crore once the third terminal opens.
CAAB officials said that the terminal will have a space of 5,42,000 square metres for aircraft parking with 37 parking aprons. HSIA currently has four taxiways and two more high-speed taxiways are being built so that planes do not have to stay longer on the runway.
Apart from this, a four-storey import cargo complex with an area of 27,000 square metres and an export cargo complex with an area of 37,000 square metres is being constructed.
The current capacity of the airport’s cargo village is 2.58 lakh tonnes and the third terminal will increase this capacity to 5 lakh tonnes. The new cargo village will help boost the country’s exports and economic growth.
More facilities
On the other hand, the new terminal will have a total of 26 boarding bridges and 12 of them will open in October. There will be a total of 115 check-in counters for departures, including 15 self-service kiosks.
CAAB officials said that there will also be 64 exit immigration counters with 10 automatic passport control counters. In arrival cases, there will be 64 counters, including five automatic check-in counters, as well.
Also, 16 conveyor baggage belts will be installed in the terminal and there will be four more separate belts for overweight baggage. There will also be 40 baggage x-ray machines.
Meanwhile, a multi-storey car parking building on a 54,000 square metres area is being constructed where 1,044 cars could be parked.
Moreover, the Dhaka metro rail will be connected with the third terminal and a separate station for that will be built. After landing, passengers will be able to take the metro rail to go to their destinations without even leaving the airport.
People will also be able to go directly to the airport’s departure or exit area via metro rail from any station in Dhaka.
According to CAAB, the third HSIA terminal project was taken up in 2017. The construction started on December 28, 2019. The project’s cost has been estimated at around Tk 21,399 crore. Out of this, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is providing Tk 16,141 crore as a loan and the government is funding the rest.
Japan’s Mitsubishi and Fujita and South Korea’s Samsung are carrying out the construction works.
CAAB chief Mafidur said that with the third terminal, HSIA will be one of the most beautiful and modern airports in the world. This terminal will be automated and passenger and cargo capacity will be greatly increased, reducing the suffering of passengers to a great extent.
