The third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will be partially inaugurated on October 7.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the terminal since construction work will be 90% complete by that time, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Mafidur Rahman confirmed yesterday.
The CAAB chairman said the terminal will be fully opened to passenger traffic by the end of 2024.
On December 30, 2019, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction of the terminal.
The project is being implemented at a cost of Tk21,300 crore. Bangladesh will contribute Tk5,000 crore, while Japan's JICA will provide the remaining funds.
According to project sources, the terminal is being constructed on 542,000 square metres of land and will have a floor space of 230,000 square metres, 115 check-in counters, 64 departure and 64 arrival immigration desks.
Besides, the parking space will accommodate 1,230 vehicles at a time and there will be a 542,000-square-metre apron for 37 aircraft. At the same time, there will be 26 baggage scanning machines, 11 body scanners, 12 boarding bridges and 16 luggage belts.
Stakeholders believe that the third terminal will open the door to new horizons in trade and commerce.
They added that a number of foreign investors and cargo airlines authorities have already shown an interest in investing in the country.
According to Maksudul Islam, director of the third terminal project, cargo movement will increase and the terminal will also enable a quick unloading of goods as the metrorail will be connected with the terminal.
Besides, there are five- and three-star hotel facilities near the airport, and shopping malls are also being built with private investment.
The project director said that vegetables and fruits are exported to various countries in the Middle East and Europe through the airport every day . Once the new terminal is opened, the export process will be simplified.
"When the third terminal opens, cargo handling will not be as manual as it is now. The entire process will be automated and will take less time," he added.
CAAB has also finalized plans to build another runway at Dhaka airport at a cost of Tk15,000 crore to tackle the increased flight pressure when the third terminal opens.
