The government will build the third terminal at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka at a cost of Tk 136.14 billion to handle 12 million passengers by 2025, officials said Saturday.
Officials said the state-run Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) recently sent a project proposal in this regard to the Planning Commission (PC) seeking its approval for starting construction works.
"We signed a deal with a Japanese consulting firm last month to help prepare the design for the terminal, float tender and supervise the terminal construction job," Nurul Islam, a Director of the CAAB told the FE.
Tender will be invited shortly for expansion of the HSIA, he added.
Meanwhile, Japanese development partner — the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) — has assured Bangladesh of building the runway and developing related infrastructures of the Dhaka airport.
An official said after construction of the 3rd terminal, Bangladesh's largest airport HSIA would be able to handle 12 million passengers and 0.434 million units of cargoes by 2025 against its current capacity of 8.0 million passengers and 0.258 million units of cargoes annually.
"We have sent a Tk 136.14 billion project proposal to the PC. Japan has assured us of providing the major part, amounting to Tk 112.15 billion, of the total cost of the project. Soon after getting approval from the government, we will go for construction works of the Terminal-3," he added.
The construction would not require acquisition of new land.
Currently, the HSIA, which started its operation in 1980, has two old and outmoded terminals where providing world-class services to air passengers is quite difficult.
Besides, the existing facilities of the Dhaka airport could not handle new generation aircraft like B747-8F; and B777-300ER.
 A Korea-Singapore-Bangladesh joint venture consulting company has already conducted the feasibility study, updated the Master Plan on HSIA which suggested expanding the airport to meet the growing aircraft flow, a CAAB official said.
The CAAB official said the consulting firm in its study showed that the air traffic growth at HSIA is one of the fastest in Asia requiring a massive upgradation of the airport.
The consulting firm has also prepared the detailed design for the Terminal-3, he added.
"Now the newly-appointed Japanese consulting firm will update the design and necessary other works for the HSIA. It will also prepare a document for inviting tender as soon as possible. The firm will also supervise entire construction work of the Terminal-3," CAAB Director Nurul Islam said.
According to the project proposal, the CAAB will build the 3rd terminal, multi-level car parking with tunnel, new cargo complex, VVIP complex, parking apron at Terminal-3 area, taxiways etc.
The CAAB has taken a target to build the 3rd terminal by June 2022.
A PC official said they are scrutinising the 'Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport expansion project phase-1' of the CAAB.
"If the project is found viable and important for the economy, we will place it before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for getting approval," he added.
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Source: The Financial Express