44.15% of HSIA's 3rd terminal complete

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali has said 44.15 per cent of the construction of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s (HSIA) third terminal has been completed.

“This progress is more than expected and has been achieved till today. The full construction will be completed within the stipulated time,” he told reporters after visiting the project site on Monday.

He also said the third terminal would hopefully be inaugurated in October next year.

Mahbub said there would be no compromise on the quality of work.

The HSIA will be able to serve a total of 22 million passengers annually after the third terminal is completed. Passengers will get services of international standards.

The project is being implemented by Japan’s Mitsubishi and Fujita, and Samsung of South Korea. Around 4,000 national and international workers are working on it, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).

Replying to a question, Mahbub said the implementing authorities only accepted quality construction materials specified in the tender.

Nothing that may cause losses to the state or the people would be accepted, he said.

When asked about ground handling at the third terminal, the state minister said they were thinking of inviting an international tender for that and only those considered eligible by fulfilling all the conditions would get the job.

“Our aim is to provide better services to passengers, and we will do everything possible for that.”

Mahbub said they are taking measures to ensure passengers are not harassed at the airport while baggage delivery also takes less time than before due to increased monitoring.

“Additional manpower has been provided wherever required. Hope the passengers will get good services.”

The state minister added, “When we see that everything is going well, we will understand that our activities are worthwhile. We will ensure international quality services that are provided in different airports of the world.”

The civil aviation and tourism secretary, the CAAB chairman, and other high-ups were also present there.