3rd terminal to revolutionise Dhaka airport management

The third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will have an integrated building management system, bringing all services under a single roof to ensure passenger comfort and seamless operations.

“Trade and businesses are expanding, so are flights. Efforts are underway to transform Dhaka airport into a world-class multimodal transit hub, which will boost revenue and augment reputation,” Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman told The Business Post.

He said the airport had been facing mounting pressure to handle passenger and cargo flights for a long time. 

Terminal-1 and Terminal-2 have a combined capability to handle 8 million passengers annually, CAAB officials said. Terminal-3 will be capable of handling another 12 million passengers. Once the third terminal starts operation, the airport will have a capacity to handle 20 million passengers a year.

Aviation expert Kazi Wahidul Alam told The Business Post that the third terminal would boost the domestic passenger handling capacity up to five times. “The third terminal would resolve the airport’s existing management problems and encourage more foreign airlines to start operations in Bangladesh,” he said.

Mafidur said Terminal-3 multimodal hub would have an integrated building management system to deliver and receive all services under a single roof.

What will Terminal-3 have?

The government cleared the Tk 21,500 crore project in October 2017. The Japan International Cooperation Agency will provide Tk 15,000 crore and the Bangladesh government will arrange the rest of the fund.

The three-storey terminal building is being constructed on a 5,42,000-square metre plot with 2,30,000 sqm floor space.

Its basement will have a parking facility for 1,230 vehicles, while the ground floor will be dedicated to luggage handling. The second floor will be fully decorated as a lounge for transit passengers. 

There will be immigration, boarding centre, boarding bridge, arrival, security centre, Covid-19 and health centre on the top floor. 

Terminal-3 will have 115 check-in and 64 departure counters, 26 baggage scanning machines, 11 body scanners and 64 arrival immigration desks.

It will also have movement ramps, a toilet for people with impairments, a breastfeeding centre and a prayer room. 

Terminal-3 will be connected to the metro rail, rail station, and the nearby highway through an underground passage.

The construction of the runway apron (where the aeroplanes are parked) will expand while two more taxiways will be added to the existing four. The large infrastructure project is expected to complete in April, 2024.

25pc work complete

Officials tasked with the third terminal project said that construction work was going on in full swing. 

Already 25 per cent of construction work has been completed, including apron car parking (aircraft parking), extension car parking, taxiway, utility, water supply, power sub-station, and sewerage.    

The terminal building work was interrupted by delays in infrastructure material import amid the pandemic. Now CAAB wants to speed up work to make up the loss.

Officials hope the structure will be visible within next month. The project is expected to be completed by April 2024. 

CAAB Chairman Mafidur said a new runway for alternative use would be constructed to speed up flight operation.

CAAB officials claimed to have saved Tk 700 crore by using the conventional piling method. They said the project cost had not increased despite a rise in construction material prices.  

“We are trying our best to ensure that the project cost does not shoot up,” Mafidur said. “The technical quality is satisfactory for the third terminal project.”