CAAB to procure 3 EDS machines for Dhaka airport for Tk41cr

The Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) is set to procure three sets of explosive detection system (EDS) for Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

The EDSs, which will be used for cargo scanning and New York-bound passenger flights’ hand baggage scanning at the airport’s cargo village which, will cost Tk 41.46 crore.

A proposal regarding this may be presented before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for approval in principle on Thursday (today).

CAAB sources said the airport authorities have plans to launch Dhaka-New York flights from next month, which will require an additional set of EDS.

An audit of New York-bound flights by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) may take place in next June. The EDS machines need to be operated before that.

Local company Update Aviation Limited will directly purchase the three ESD made by US firm Laids SDA while each of the machines has been proposed to be bought at Tk 13.82 crore.

Earlier, an EDS machine was procured at Tk 13.55 crore from the same company for Osmani International Airport in Sylhet in 2021.

Currently, four sets of EDS machines are available at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for baggage and cargo scanning.

Two sets of export cargo scanning machines (model Morfo 980DSI) were made in America that were installed and commissioned on December 10, 2017. Their three-year warranty period concluded in December 2020.

The next year, a machine went out of order and another frequently malfunctioned due to technical glitches, but the CAAB authorities thought fixing the machines by investing more money would not be profitable.

As a result, the two machines still have old technology and are listed by TSA, and they need to be replaced.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism directed the CAAB to purchase the ESDs through an open tender, but the latter decided to buy them directly.

Regarding its decision, the CAAB said it needs to buy the machines on an emergency basis as explosive scanning is mandatory for New York-bound flights.

The CAAB is considering operating explosive scans for all hand baggage in 2022. Besides, after buying the machines, other work, including installation and validation, will be time-consuming.

Presently, two EDS machines of RTT-110 model are used for safety screening of Europe-bound cargo as per the European Union independent validation.

They were installed in the RA-3 (Regulated Agent Third Country Validation Process) area and were financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.