‘A building was inaugurated in the name of completion’: Minister on Dhaka airport’s third terminal
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashiduzzaman Millat today said the Awami League government had merely inaugurated the building of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) while presenting the project as complete.
“When we assumed power, we saw that although a building had been inaugurated by the fascist government in the name of completion, many integral parts had not been finished. Machinery had arrived but was not integrated,” he said while replying to a supplementary question from Abdul Hannan Masud MP at the parliament.
He added that several works by the Aviation Dhaka Consortium (ADC), the main contractor group for the third terminal, also remained incomplete.
Millat said the government learned after taking office that the terminal had been built at a cost of Tk 21,600 crore following three revisions to the project cost, up from an initial allocation of Tk 13,000 crore.
“In other words, a property worth $2.1 billion is on the verge of being wasted. It is essential to make it operational as quickly as possible to generate revenue and to repay the loan,” the minister added.
He said the government had already repaid Tk 1,100 crore to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as an instalment since taking office.
The government had calculated that Tk 902 crore was required to clear the arrears, including ADC’s dues, and complete the work needed to launch the terminal, he added.
The minister also said that the third terminal’s launch would double passenger capacity, while the additional revenue would help the government repay the JICA loan.
Millat said the planning ministry had been approached and the finance ministry was arranging the necessary allocation.
“If this is not done, the project will remain idle. In that case, it would be little more than a building without functionality, as it was under the previous government.”
“To protect this $2.1 billion asset, the terminal needs to be made operational urgently. That is why we requested the allocation,” the minister said.
Probe planned into aircraft purchases under Awami League rule
The government would investigate whether there were irregularities in the purchase of nine aircraft during the authoritarian Awami League government, the minister said during the question-and-answer session.
He also said Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB) was working to boost revenue while ensuring safe air traffic and better airport services.
Responding to another query, Millat said measures were being taken to prevent passenger harassment, luggage theft and irregularities. These include help desks, faster baggage scanning, immigration and check-in systems, CCTV surveillance, video storage and body cameras for ground-handling staff. Mobile courts also operate regularly around airports.
He said ticket booking, refunds and inventory management were also being further digitised.
In 2025-26, the first luggage was delivered within 18 minutes and the last within 58 minutes in 86 percent of cases, the minister added.
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