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Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashiduzzaman Millat announced that the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport would be inaugurated on December 16 of this year.
The minister made this statement to journalists on Tuesday (September 8) after inspecting the third terminal.
The Aviation Minister said, “We want to inaugurate this terminal. As you know, during the previous fascist regime, only the building of this terminal was inaugurated, but no initiative was taken to make it operational.”
He stated that the terminal lacked internet facilities and necessary machinery. There was also no plan on how it would be operated.
Regarding revenue sharing, the minister mentioned that previously, Bangladesh was set to receive 15 percent of the revenue, while the Japanese company was to receive 85 percent. However, through multiple meetings and collective efforts, Bangladesh’s share has been increased to 27 percent.
Rashiduzzaman Millat said, “If we can achieve 27 percent, our loan can be repaid. As you know, this project was undertaken with a JICA loan.”
He informed that the loan installments for the terminal are currently being paid from the revenue of other sectors of the Civil Aviation Authority. Already, BDT 1,100 crore has been repaid. Another BDT 900 crore will be due in December.
The minister explained that if the terminal is not made operational, the loan will continue to be repaid from other sector revenues. Therefore, the decision has been made to partially open the terminal on December 16, even if partially.
Earlier, on August 30, Rashiduzzaman Millat had informed the parliament that the previous government had inaugurated a building in the name of launching the third terminal of Shahjalal Airport, but crucial internal works remained incomplete. He had also stated that an additional BDT 902 crore would be required to make the terminal operational.
The Awami League government undertook the third terminal construction project in 2017. Construction began on December 28, 2019, with an estimated cost of BDT 21,398 crore. Of the project cost, the government contributed BDT 5,000 crore, with the remaining funds coming from a loan by the Japanese agency JICA.