Dhaka Bureau: Airport expansion work is going on in full swing with the aim of providing modern and quality passenger services. The third terminal of Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal (RA) International Airport, which is under construction on the model of Singapore’s Changi Airport, is going to be partially inaugurated on Saturday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be present at the airport and will officially inaugurate it.
The Civil Aviation Authority (BAB) has completed all preparations for this occasion. After the partial inauguration, on an experimental basis, a flight from Biman, Bangladesh, will leave Dhaka using the third terminal. The ground handling of that flight will also be done by state-owned airlines. The airport authority has already conducted two flights on a trial basis in this part of the terminal. Meanwhile, despite the partial inauguration today, it will take another year to prepare the terminal for passenger traffic. By the end of 2024, passengers will have the benefit of using the third terminal of the airport.
The new terminal is bringing relief to the ever-increasing passenger pressure at the two terminals at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal (R.H.) International Airport. Currently, this major airport in the country has two terminals. The first terminal is for domestic passengers, and the second terminal is for international arrivals. 120 to 130 flights from 30 domestic and foreign airlines use the two terminals daily.
About 19,000 to 21,000 passengers travel on these flights every day. In other words, about 8 million passengers use Shahjalal International Airport annually. Once the third terminal is fully operational, another 1–2 million passengers will be able to use this airport. In other words, more than 2 crore passengers will be able to travel through this airport in a year. Through the Aviation Dhaka Consortium (ADC), Japan’s Mitsubishi and Fujita and Korea’s Samsung are completing the construction of the terminal. Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority (Babychak), Air Vice Marshal Mofidur Rahman, said that the Prime Minister will inaugurate the third terminal on Saturday. A test flight will be conducted from here on this day. Passengers will be able to use this terminal by the end of next year. The quality of passenger service will increase manifold. Currently, many new airlines have expressed interest in using a third terminal.
The building of the third terminal will be three stories. Its construction started in December 2019. Many countries and their airlines have expressed interest in using the third terminal at the under-construction Hazrat Shahjalal (R.H.) International Airport, considering its aesthetic design, usability, and critical issues. Through this, many countries want to increase the air connectivity of Bangladesh. The airport officials are expecting that aircraft traffic will increase more than before. 36 public and private airlines from different countries, including Biman Bangladesh Airlines, are operating flights to a total of 27 destinations in 20 countries around the world. However, with the construction of the third terminal, the number of countries interested in operating flights has reached 54.
