Govt to fund replacement for 'severely outdated' Dhaka airport radar

The government has agreed to install a new radar at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka using its own funds instead of through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as previously considered. The Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB) has said the current radar system at the country's main port of entry is severely outdated compared to global standards, and that part of the reason for upgrading the system is to comply with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines. Earlier, Karim Associates had fixed the bid price at Tk1700cr under the PPP, before CAAB finally approved the project and forwarded it to the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry. However, the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry sent the proposal back to CAAB for review on November 3 last year due to massive escalation of the cost, which was originally estimated to be around Tk330cr in 2013. On January 11, the government made the proposal to install the radar at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport using its own funds as the previous PPP project would have led to exaggerated expenditure, Secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry SM Ghulam Farooque had explained. The full name of the prioject is 'Supply, Installation and Commissioning of a Multi Mode Surveillance System (Radar, ADS-B Wide area Multilateration -WAM) along with ATC and Communication system at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), Dhaka'.