(MENAFN- Bangladesh Monitor) Dhaka: The construction of the Third Terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the capital is progressing in full swing, with 60 per cent of the project's work completed as of February 7 which is on target.
State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali announced said this at a press conference during a visit to the project site at Kurmitola in the capital on February 7.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Secretary Md Mokammel Hossain and Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman were also present on the occasion, among others.
The State Minister said that 93 per cent of the work will be completed within October 2023. However, it will take till the end of 2024 for the terminal to be fully functional; though the target was April 2024.
'There will be no compromise with quality, however,' he said of the project being implemented by Mitsubishi and Fujita of Japan, and Samsung of South Korea.
Officials say the soft launch of the much-awaited terminal is expected within October 2023.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said, 'This project has saved about BDT 700 crore. With this money, we are implementing some new additions. So, it will take over a year and a half after the soft opening.'
Pointing out the reason for the delay in project completion, he said, 'There were supposed to be 12 boarding bridges. But now there will be 26. As a result, the passenger handling capacity has increased from 10 million to 16 million now.'
'Also there will be a VVIP terminal on the west side of the existing runway. It took time to get approval from JICA. So the total work will be delayed,' he added.
Around 4,000 local and foreign workers are engaged in the project, according to CAAB.
Once completed, the terminal can serve twice the number of passengers compared to what Dhaka airport is currently handling, officials said, adding that after the completion of the project, the airport will be able to provide service to around 22 million passengers every year.
Authorities also said that when the third terminal is completed, it will double the airport's annual passenger and cargo handling capacity. It will be able to handle five lac tonnes of cargo compared with the current two lac tonnes.
The terminal is being constructed on 542,000 square meters of land and will have a floor space of 230,000 square meters, 177 check-in counters, 64 departure and 64 arrival immigration desks.
On December 28, 2019, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction work of the BDT 21,300 crore project aimed at increasing the airport's passenger and cargo capacity.
Of the total cost, the government is providing BDT 5,000 crore and the rest is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).