Fifty-one percent of the construction of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport's (HSIA) third terminal has been completed so far. The establishment is expected to partially open for operation in October next year.
Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman disclosed this information today.
While talking with the newly-elected executive body of Aviation and Tourism Journalists' Forum of Bangladesh (ATJFB) at his office in the capital's Kurmitola, the CAAB chief said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will launch the terminal's partial operation.
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He also informed that the third terminal will be fully functional by the end of 2024.
ATJFB President Tanzim Anwar led the delegation on behalf of the organisation.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in December 2019 inaugurated construction work of Terminal 3, which will cost Tk 21,399 crore to build. When the project was first conceived, its outlay was projected to be Tk 13,610 crore.
The terminal was designed by architect Rohani Baharin.
The three-storey terminal building, covering 2.30 lakh square metres, will be built by Mitsubishi and Fujita of Japan and Samsung of Korea.
Around two crore passengers will be able to use HSIA yearly following the construction of the third terminal, 70 percent of the funding for which is coming from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
In its current form, HSIA can handle 80 lakh passengers a year. However, the number of passengers is expected to reach 1.4 crore by 2025 and 24.8 million by 2035.
About the progress of the construction work, the CAAB boss said the pace of the work will be faster next year.
Asked about the delay in starting work for the second phase, he said they have added some additional works, including the construction of the VVIP terminal, which needed to be approved by Jica.
"Besides, we will also need to change the development project proposal (DPP), which needs the government's approval," he added.
