Bangabandhu Sheik Mujib International Airport

April 11, 2010 / by  / 5,596 Comments / Filed under News

According to the Daily Star:

The government has drawn up a plan to construct the first phase of the proposed Tk 50,000 crore Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib International Airport in next five years under build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis.

As part of the plan Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) conducted a feasibility study over the last three months where they identified three possible sites for the airport.

Of the three, two are in Mymensingh and one is in Tangail.

An inter-ministerial meeting the day before yesterday at the civil aviation and tourism ministry preferred the site at Trishal in Mymensingh.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Shafique Alam Mehdi said the site at Trishal, 97 kilometres off the capital, would be given the top priority as it has about 1200 acres of government land in place.

CAAB handed over its feasibility study report to the ministry. The ministry will soon send a summary of it to the prime minister for her consent.

“Soon after the prime minister’s consent we will appoint consultants and conduct the technical feasibility study within this year,” Shafique added.

According to the primary plan the airport will be established on about 6000 acres of land with three 9000 feet runways and all other modern facilities like Dubai or Singapore Airports.

An elevated expressway has also been planned under the project to link the airport with Dhaka.

Renowned airport builders will provide the fund for the project.

In the first phase a dual terminal and a runway will be constructed. It will also include a parking bay to accommodate 75 aircraft, support facilities and structures including a large maintenance hangar, a fire station and workshop.

Two more passenger terminals and runways are expected to be completed by 2020, Shafique said.

Ministry sources said reputable airport building agencies like Italian-Thai Development Corporation, Murray and Roberts of South Africa, Penta Ocean Construction and Obayashi Corporation have informally communicated with the ministry.

The civil aviation secretary said the airport would be the connecting link between the emerging and developed economies in the East and West.

“Bangladesh needs a gateway to East Asian and Middle Eastern and Western countries as air cargo transportation is growing day by day,” he said.

Shahjalal International Airport doesn’t have adequate space and facilities to fulfil the demand,” Shafique said.

The airport has been planned in a way so that it can meet the demand of next hundred years, the official added.

A high official of the ministry said Shahajalal Airport was built when country’s external trade was not more than $1 billion, which has now crossed $35 billion a year.

According to the CAAB statistics 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of freight have been transported through Shahjalal Airport in 2009 with a 20 percent growth annually.

OK I don’t know about you, but the last time I went to Bangladesh, the airport in Dhaka had a tremendous amount of space. After we landed I looked to the side and I saw nothing but grass and forestry so, I don’t understand how we don’t have space at our current airport. Do we really need another international airport near Dhaka?

Also note, that the current airport in Dhaka is no longer Zia International Airport, now it’s new name is Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. It would make more sense to name the airport Dhaka International Airport since it’s in Dhaka.

Also note, the new proposed airport is going to cost Tk 50,000 crore so, that’s about $7,238,508,867 according to Yahoo Finance. $7 billion could help so many poor families in Bangladesh to raise their standard of living to the middle-class through education and job training.

I really don’t understand why showing off to the world is more important than helping a starving family in Bangladesh. Initiating this project is all about preserving the Bangabandhu name and showing off to the world. It’s OK to represent Bangladesh to the world, but why not just upgrade the airport in Dhaka instead of wasting money and starting a grand new project, use the money to improve the infrastructure of the country and create more jobs.

$7 billion is enough to reduce the country’s poverty level significantly low. Currently Bangladesh’s poverty rate is about 35%; that $7 billion can reduce it to 10% and raise the literacy rate to be over 90% with proper management.

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