Bangladesh
Third Terminal PM Hasina inaugurates Dhaka airport's 3rd terminal
Dhaka, Oct 7: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday inaugurated the newly constructed third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka, which is set to revolutionize the country's aviation sector to provide world-class passenger service and safety.
She inaugurated the newly constructed terminal by unveiling a plaque at Dhaka International Airport on Saturday morning with the slogan "Connecting dreams with reality".
Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Tourism Mahbub Ali, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Masahiro Komura, Secretary Civil Aviation and Tourism Mokammel Hossain and Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman spoke as Ministers on the occasion. Saito Tetsu of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism was also present.
The Prime Minister later visited different sections of Terminal-3 and inspected its various departments and was briefed about the facilities.
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She also attended a dress rehearsal to clear immigration through her baggage checking and was later given a boarding pass.
A video documentary was screened at the third terminal at the event. Another video documentary on the activities of the Civil Aviation Authority was also shown.
About 90 percent of the work on the new terminal of Dhaka Airport has been completed and the rest of the work is underway in full swing.
The third terminal will be fully operational for passenger use by the end of next year after completion of system integration and calibration.
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Twelve boarding gates including the double entry bridge of the third terminal are expected to be operational by next year and another 14 boarding bridges are expected to be installed later.
The third terminal project at a cost of Tk 21,300 crore started on December 28, 2019. Of this, the government funded Tk 5,000 crore and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provides the balance.
Covering an area of 5,42,000 square meters, the third terminal will have 2,30,000 square meters of floor space with 115 check-in counters, 66 departure immigration desks, 59 arrival immigration and three VIP immigration desks.
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After the 3rd terminal becomes fully operational, the annual passenger and cargo handling capacity of Dhaka Airport is expected to double.
Those involved in the project said that after the new terminal is operational, the annual passenger handling capacity of Dhaka Airport will be 24 million (including the old terminal) compared to 8 million now and the airport will be able to handle 5,00,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
Construction of 37 new aircraft parking areas and two taxiways connecting the apron area has already been completed.
The third terminal is being built to connect to a multimodal transport system to enable passengers to enter and exit the international airport.
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The new terminal will be connected to the airport railway station via elevated expressway, underground railway (MRT-5, Kamalapur to Airport section) and an underground tunnel.
Besides, pilgrims can go to the third terminal through the underground tunnel from Ashkona Hajj camp.
The third terminal is expected to be operated and maintained by a Japanese company under a public-private partnership.
