The country’s three major airports, including the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, are getting a facelift to meet the growing needs for improving facilities as per international standards.

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Osmani International Airport, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar International Airport are undergoing massive upgrades – expansions, renovations– to keep up with the increasing number of flyers and air traffic.     
Despite the ongoing pandemic, the airport development projects have been going on in full swing to finish the work by the deadline.

A Tk 21,300 crore project for constructing the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) will change the face of the country’s main airport.

Sources at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) said 10 per cent work has already been completed so far since the work began in 2019.

Land development including filling and piling has seen major progress. With the development of land, around 500 piles out of 3000 have been installed in the third terminal project, said sources at CAAB.

During a recent visit, it was seen that the project implementing agencies were working at full pace to complete the project by the stipulated time of 2023, complying with the health guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The terminal will be implemented in phases. In the first step, terminal construction will be done, and thereafter, cargo, taxiway, flying club, and connecting roads will be built in phases, according to a top project official.
The three-storey terminal building, designed by Rohani Baharin of internationally renowned CPG Corporation Limited Singapore, will have a floor space of 2,30,000 square metres.

Sources said the new terminal will have all the facilities like the world’s top airports. The new infrastructure will have 37 aircraft aprons and import-export cargo complex over the 63,000 square feet area.

It will have 115 check-in counters, including 15 self-service; 66 departure immigration counters, 10 automatic passport control counters; 59 arrival immigration desks, five automatic check-in counters and 19 check-in arrival counters and 16 arrival baggage belts.

With the implementation of HSIA expansion project, the airport’s annual passenger handling capacity will increase from the current eight million to approximately 20 million.

During a recent visit, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Md Mahbub Ali said the construction of the third terminal has been going on in full swing.

It will change the face of the country’s premier airport and meet the growing demand of passengers and cargo services, added the minister.

Kazi Wahidul Alam, an aviation expert, said it is one of the most desired projects of the country’s aviation industry in line with the growing demand from travellers and airlines.

It is the door of Bangladesh that gives the first impression to the people about a country, he said, adding that the third terminal will make the Dhaka airport more functional and contribute to the national growth.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the construction work of the terminal by laying its foundation stone on December 27 last year.        

Mitsubishi and Fujita of Japan and Samsung of Korea were awarded the contract to construct the third terminal under a consortium.

Two other airports also to see major changes

Sylhet International Airport is set to see a major change with its expansion and modernisation.

The government is implementing Osmani Airport Extension Project (Phase-1) at a cost of Tk2,116 crore which will change the face of the airport.

Under the project, there will have a new terminal building, cargo village, state-of-the-art ATC tower and other modern facilities which will increase the passenger handling capacity to two million from the current six lakh.

On October 1, the prime minister also laid the foundation stone of the construction work of Sylhet Osmani International Airport Extension Project.

According to CAAB’s engineering section, it is learnt that the extension will have six new boarding bridges, 36 check-in counters, 24 passport control counters, six escalators, nine lifts, and three luggage conveyor belts.

The project also includes explosive detection system (EDS), separate substations for uninterrupted power supply, modern fire-fighting systems, elevator, and fuel hydrant systems for Z-1 fuel supply, water treatment plants, voice control communications systems and voice recording radar systems.

China’s Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG)