Japanese firm appointed for Bangabandhu Airport study

The CAAB signed an agreement with Nippon Koei Co Ltd in the capital on Wednesday. The study is expected to be completed in 18 months with a cost of Tk120 crore. Air Vice-Marshall Ehsanul Gani Chowdhury, chairman of CAAB and Toshika Ju Kambara, deputy director general of Nippon Koei, signed the deal on behalf of their respective organisations at CAAB headquarters in the capital. “As the number of passengers is increasing by around 7% annually, we have decided to build another airport,” said Ehsanul Gani Chowdhury after signing the agreement. He said: “Bangladesh will be a regional aviation hub soon as most of the East and West bound aircrafts are using Bangladesh territory and if we want to tap the aviation business, we need to build another airport.” The feasibility study team would verify all factors, including cost and risk benefits, economic and financial impacts, financing and airport operation strategy, environmental impact and management plant. The existing infrastructure facilities of the country’s main gateway, Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, are insufficient to meet the increasing air traffic demand as it faces some constraints in the expansion of the airport. Considering the fact, the government has undertaken a move for building a new airport. Three sites Char Janajat in Madaripur district, Keyain and Latobdi in Munshiganj district and Char Bilashpur in Dhaka district have primarily been selected for the construction of the proposed airport, according to the CAAB. The construction cost of the proposed Bangabandhu airport along with three 14,500-feet runways has been estimated at Tk50,000 crore and it will take around 10 years to accomplish the project, reads the project proposal.