Bagerhat Airport

Photo: Collected

Bagerhat's Khan Jahan Ali airport will not be constructed under PPP model

The meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs was held on Thursday (June 22) under the chairmanship of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal. After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary (Coordination and Reforms) Md. Mahmudul Hossain Khan announced the decision of the meeting. He said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has given in-principle approval to the proposal regarding the withdrawal of the Bagerhat Khan Jahan Ali Airport construction project from the PPP list.

Is there any possibility of Khan Jahan Ali airport due to fallout from PPP? When asked, Secretary Md. Mahmudul Hossain Khan said, exclusion from PPP does not mean that Khan Jahan Ali Airport will no longer exist. The government can do it with its own funding if it wants. Now that a policy decision has been taken to exclude it from the PPP, the project has not been scrapped.

Meanwhile, a proposal of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and a proposal of the Bangladesh Election Commission were given principle approval in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

In this regard, Secretary Md. Mahmudul Hossain Khan said, "Construction of high-rise apartments at Purbachal New Town Project" by the Capital Development Authority under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works has been removed from the GTUG agreement with Singapore on PPP basis and high-rise apartments in one sector (sector number-3) on PPP basis. Construction and proposed construction of apartments for low income people in six blocks (Sector Nos-8, 9, 10, 13, 25 & 29) has been given in-principle approval.

In addition, the Bangladesh Election Commission has given principled approval to the proposal to purchase the 'Voter Registration (BVRS) Software License and Support Service' through Direct Purchase Method (DPM) - said the Secretary of the Cabinet Division.