The construction of the third terminal for the Dhaka airport is set to begin in September, a year after the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) floated tender.
“Being a mega project, floating tenders as well as scrutinizing and finalizing it took some time. It will be possible to start the construction from September,” says Project Director of Third Terminal Construction Project AKM Maksuduk Haque.
The construction work of the new terminal, expected to be completed by 2022, will cost Tk 136.10 billion with financial assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Apart from a 226,000-square metre terminal building, a new cargo village, VVIP complex, and rapid exit, connecting taxiways and an oil dept will be constructed under the project.
Various water treatment, power supply, emergency and fire-fighting facilities will also be built as part of the development.
Located in Dhaka’s Kurmitola, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport began operations in 1980.
Currently, the airport has one domestic terminal and two international terminals with a capacity to handle around eight million passengers and 200,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
With a 9.5 percent yearly increase in passenger volume, the limit was expected to be crossed in 2018.
After construction of the third terminal, passenger handling capacity will increase to 20 million and cargo handling capacity to 500,000, according to the CAAB.
On Jun 11 last year, the CAAB signed agreements with four consultancy firms— Japan’s Nippon Co Ltd and Oriental Consultants Ltd, Singapore-based CPG Consultant Ltd and Bangladesh Development Design Consultant.
The then-CAAB chairman Ehsanul Gani Chowdhury told the signing ceremony that the construction was set to start in April 2018 and end on April 2021.
The consultancy firms already filed the assessment reports, but they will supervise the whole process from the reviewing the design to the construction.
Speaking to Bangla Tribune, Additional Secretary of Civil Aviation Ministry Md Mokabbir Hossain said, “Maximum priority has been given to the airport expansion project.
“JICA is involved with the project and both parties (the government and the JICA) are supervising the project operation,” he said.