Following the recent fire at the cargo village of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Biman Bangladesh Airlines has released a list of goods that remained undamaged.
As the airport’s ground-handling agent, Biman is working with Dhaka Custom House, which has started releasing cargo through Gate 9 of the facility.
On Tuesday, the smell of burnt materials still lingered near the cargo village. A fire service truck was stationed at the site, and Biman staff were seen posting a list of intact goods on a wall next to Gate 8. Many importers affected by the fire gathered to check the list.
The published list mainly included BGMEA-owned cargo, which reportedly suffered minimal damage. More than 500 items were listed as intact.
Among the relieved importers was Abdur Rahim, owner of Vision Eparcel from Mirpur, Dhaka, who imported fabric worth $808 from China. “I've been coming to the airport for two days looking for my goods. Today, I found five of them. The rest are still missing,” he said.
Khandaker Nahid Hossain, a ground-handling staff member at Biman, said most BGMEA goods were in the apron area during the fire, which spared them from damage. Goods belonging to other importers stored in the same area also remained intact. A list of such undamaged goods has been posted on-site, and owners can collect them through the NBR after paying the necessary bank fees.
Noor-e-Alam, an officer from Dhaka Custom House, said: “We’ve started preliminary operations using Gate 9 for delivery. Full operations will take more time, but we’re doing our best to move things forward.”
Two focal point officers have been appointed to assist with cargo delivery — Kamrul Hassan, joint commissioner of Dhaka Custom House, and Firoz Salauddin, manager (Import Operations) of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
