Shah Makhdum Airport in Rajshahi will get a new look upon the successful completion of the ongoing infrastructural development works, including runway expansion and ground station modernization, by June next year.
Dilara Pervin, the airport manager, said the airport has been reforming after a long time as it is going to get a new look through the expansion of the runway and modernize its ground station.
Different types of works including boarding gate and new departure, installation of luggage belts at arrival lounge coupled with enhancing the capacity of the VIP lounge and ticket counter are progressing, she said.
A project being implemented with an estimated cost of around Tk107 crore with the supervision of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) is going on to increase the existing facilities of the airport.
After finishing the development project, the terminal will have a total area of 31,000 square feet.
The runway will be 10,000 feet long and 150 feet wide.
The aprons will be 275x250 feet.
The project includes the construction of the terminal building, the installation of an electro-mechanical and control tower along with communication and security equipment.
This will increase the passenger accommodation capacity of the current terminal from 260 to 850.
However, all types of aircraft including cargo will be flown from Rajshahi with the reformation work of other facilities such as runway expansion.
Besides, Rajshahi people hope for ensuring direct communication with neighbouring countries.
“For the last 35 years, no expansion work has been done at Shah Makhdum Airport since its journey,” the airport manager said.
“In 2007, the airport was shut down due to a loss. After nine years, it was reopened in 2015. In the initial stage, Bangladesh Biman started operating its flight followed by US Bangla and Novoair,” she added.
Currently, there are a total of 26 flights of three airlines operating seven days a week.
Shah Makhdum Airport started its journey with a runway 6,000 feet in length and 92 feet in width in 1984.
The runway of the airport is currently around 6,600 feet long and 120 feet wide.
On the other hand, a typical runway length for a fully loaded Boeing 747-400 is around 10,000 to 12,000 feet for take-off.
Currently, domestic flights are being operated to and from Rajshahi Airport.
Already, CAAB has built a rest house, renovated the airport and established a runway lighting system intending to transform it into an international airport.
Project Coordinator Monwar Hossain said airlines could not incline their flight operations due to various reasons, particularly runway problems, despite demands in the past.
He, however, said the new runway will make the flight operation easier.
So far 32% of runway expansion work has been completed and officials concerned are expecting that the work will be completed before three-month
ahead of the stipulated time.
