Despite significant public investment, the 44 automated e-gates installed at Bangladesh’s major airports and land ports to facilitate faster immigration for e-passport holders remain largely unused, raising serious questions about planning, accountability and value for money.
Installed at a cost of Tk34.5 crore under the “Bangladesh e-passport and automated border control management introduction” project, the e-gates were meant to dramatically reduce immigration processing time - promised at just 18 seconds per passenger.
Instead, the system has been shut down at departure points, forcing travelers back into manual queues and, passengers say, worsening delays and harassment.
The broader project, initially approved at Tk4,635 crore, later saw its cost revised upward to Tk9,380 crore under circumstances officials have yet to clearly explain.
The project timeline spans from July 2018 to June 2028.
E-gates installed, but unused
According to immigration sources, a total of 44 e-gates were installed across airports and land ports: 26 at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, six at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong, six at Osmani International Airport in Sylhet, four at Benapole Land Port, and two at Banglabandha Land Port.
The gates were supplied and installed by German firm Veridos GmbH, which secured the contract in July 2018.
Airport officials also received training to operate the system after installation in 2019.
However, despite intermittent trials, the e-gates are currently closed for outbound passengers at major airports.
A recent visit to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport found all departing passengers required to complete immigration manually, including visa verification and travel document checks - often taking longer than before the e-gates were introduced.
Frustration grows
Passengers say the shutdown has doubled waiting times.
Liton Kabir, a traveler bound for Singapore, told Dhaka Tribune that the promise of faster travel with e-passports has not materialized.
“The e-passport was once a national dream. These e-gates were installed even before e-passports were rolled out. It’s painful to see public money wasted while ordinary people suffer,” he said.
Rajib Ahmed, traveling to Thailand with his family for the first time, said the experience fell far short of expectations.
“I heard immigration would take 18 seconds. Instead, I’ve gone through multiple checks and long queues while my boarding time approaches,” he said.
Why the system failed
Immigration officials acknowledge that the system’s design flaws undermined its effectiveness.
One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said passengers using e-gates still had to report to immigration desks for visa verification, making the process longer rather than shorter.
“Sometimes the data from the e-gate does not sync with immigration software. That’s one reason the system was shut down,” the official said.
Immigration Police sources added that while around 40% of daily passengers now hold e-passports, the e-gates can only verify biometric passport data—not visas, destination details or flight information.
As a result, manual checks remain mandatory.
“When multiple flights arrive or depart at the same time, pressure on immigration increases rather than decreases,” an officer said.
Official explanations, limited answers
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Executive Director Group Captain SM Ragib Samad confirmed that the e-gates can only authenticate passport data and cannot verify visas or travel details.
“For this reason, immigration operations are being handled manually by closing the e-gates,” he said, adding that the decision was taken on instructions from the home adviser.
“I have urged several times to reopen the system and hope the issue will be resolved soon.”
Aviation expert Kazi Wahidul Alam questioned how such limitations were overlooked in a publicly funded project of this scale.
“If passengers don’t get services from a Tk4,000 crore project, then it has failed in its purpose,” he said.
“These systems work efficiently in countries like Singapore. The authorities must identify the real obstacles instead of avoiding responsibility.”
He warned that prolonged shutdown could render the system obsolete and require further public spending to revive it.
The Ministry of Home Affairs declined to comment, with Additional Secretary Faisal Ahmed telling Dhaka Tribune that officials were “not permitted” to speak on the matter.
At Benapole Land Port, Immigration Police Officer-in-Charge Shakhawat Hossain said four e-gates, two for arrivals and two for departures, remain operational, staffed by four officers.
Bangladesh launched its e-passport program and Automated Border Control system in January 2020, becoming the first country in South Asia to introduce e-passports.
Since then, e-passports have been issued to millions of citizens.
Yet, without fully functional automated border control, experts warn that the promise of faster, dignified and globally accepted travel remains unfulfilled, leaving passengers paying the price for policy and planning failures.
