Online Voices
Readers' instant comments on The Daily Star Online reports.
Log on to thedailystar.net to leave your comments. New int'l airport to cost Tk 50,000cr (August 28, 2010) Do we really need another airport in our poor country at that cost? Can't we use that money on education, roads, power and industries, to name a few.
Ishtaq It will be a great waste of time and money if we build this airport. If Brussels and other international airports can survive with houses beside them, why can't we? AL leaders are trying to sell the open space next to Zia International Airport to some party affiliated persons for petty gains. We can use that to expand the airport. Hasan A ridiculous idea. It will be waste of tax money to build another airport near Dhaka since we already have one. Upgrading the current one is quite possible if you consider such major airport improvements such as Delhi, Atlanta, London, Doha etc. Instead, this money should be used to make a four lane national highway connecting most major cities in Bangladesh.
Maksood This report does not say whether a parallel runway with the existing one in Shahajalal Aiport is possible. Because Tk 50,000 crore is not a small amount or is the airport necessary for its given name? I think the name of Bangabandhu is in the hearts of all Bengalis.
Abul Kalam, P.Eng. Does the govt really consider the existing airport International-standard?? If they do, then spending Tk 50,000 crore for another so-called international standard airport will be a wastage of resources (land, labour & capital). I would urge the govt officials to tour the airports of some foreign countries to get an idea of what international standard really is.
Zabi Now I have an idea about the size of the new airport project. Can someone provide the net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) of this project? I and everyone else would like to see the project float by its own merit. We simply cannot afford a white elephant built with public money.
Jumana Sarwar Do we really need another international airport in Dhaka? Except a few areas in Dhaka, we don't even have a proper sewerage system in the whole country. And we all are aware of the electricity problem. Do these politicians really care about their country? I doubt!
MMC We propose the name of the new international airport s be Sheikh Hasina International Airport. Presently, Sheikh Hasina is the only leader in Bangladesh.
Mobaidul Huq Why do they need to spend so much money on an airport. Currently, we have one in the capital. If they want to spend money then they should build new roads and repair the existing ones, build flyovers etc.
Md Farhan We definitely need this airport. The first impression any foreign investor gets after arriving is by looking at your airport. The main reason we have so less FDI is the lack of infrastructure and dismal look of our cities and roads. All the money except the land will come from FDI which will not only inflate our foreign currency reserve but also bring new businesses through air transit and will become a regional air hub.
Rawshan Iajdani The govt has changed Zia's name for no reason. Setting up a new airport surely will be wastage of money whereas we people do not enjoy the fundamental rights.
Nawshar We have to ensure that the airport will be of international standard in design and functionality. Keep in mind 50 years from now.
Yasin Have we done enough studies to understand the full economic impact of this project on the country? Would it not be more beneficial for us to develop our local infrastructure first?
Asad Uzzaman Will Prime Minister Hasina pledge to the nation that this new airport would not be named after our father of the nation? Only then we the citizens will know what the real motivation is. Please use the money to build international standard highways/freeways to replace the totally outdated and down right dangerous existing undivided highways connecting the major population centres. Every year far too many people are dying due to head-on collisions.
Masud Alam Present Dhaka international airport is not fully utilized. Only 40-50 % of its capacity is being utilized . Please do not go for projects like magnetic train anymore. We are not saudi Arabia, Qatar or Dubai.
Ameen Sayeed Building another airport without paying attention to basic necessities like power, health care, education and economic sustainability sounds ridiculous. People have a hard enough time getting to the existing one due to lack of proper planning. Wouldn't it make more sense to focus resources to fixing crippling traffic congestion first? Who will pay for this airport? What will be the benefit?
Shabbir Bashar The present airport is now in city-centre creating nuisance (noise pollution) for the hospitals and educational institutions during daytime. Citizens of the capital cannot have peaceful sleep at night. If the ground-breaking for the airport starts today then 20 or 30 years will pass by for full fledged operation. You can imagine the pressure of increased passenger traffic (8-9% per year).
Abdur Rauf We desperately need the current airport to be moved out of the city centre. The new airport should be relocated, it doesn't need to be state of the art, it can be built in phases over the years starting with a basic structure. In order to be economically competitive with our neighbours, we need new infrastructure like an airport with public transport connections and wide roads. Both Bangkok and KL moved their airports out further out of the city for a good reason and now those airports are thriving.
Antara We have to do everything which is needed for the development of our country. Now we should try to set up more and more power stations. We should remember that every sector is in ICU in our country. We have to be more alert.
Mamun May we know in whose interest this mega-project has been conceived? How much of the budget would be going into the pocket of the entrepreneurs? This plan smells something fishy because a country like Bangladesh has proved callously inefficient in handling the jobs in HSJI (Dhaka) Airport. So the proposed airport must be managed and controlled by some agencies/agency on heavy commission basis.
S. Ali
Log on to thedailystar.net to leave your comments. New int'l airport to cost Tk 50,000cr (August 28, 2010) Do we really need another airport in our poor country at that cost? Can't we use that money on education, roads, power and industries, to name a few.
Ishtaq It will be a great waste of time and money if we build this airport. If Brussels and other international airports can survive with houses beside them, why can't we? AL leaders are trying to sell the open space next to Zia International Airport to some party affiliated persons for petty gains. We can use that to expand the airport. Hasan A ridiculous idea. It will be waste of tax money to build another airport near Dhaka since we already have one. Upgrading the current one is quite possible if you consider such major airport improvements such as Delhi, Atlanta, London, Doha etc. Instead, this money should be used to make a four lane national highway connecting most major cities in Bangladesh.
Maksood This report does not say whether a parallel runway with the existing one in Shahajalal Aiport is possible. Because Tk 50,000 crore is not a small amount or is the airport necessary for its given name? I think the name of Bangabandhu is in the hearts of all Bengalis.
Abul Kalam, P.Eng. Does the govt really consider the existing airport International-standard?? If they do, then spending Tk 50,000 crore for another so-called international standard airport will be a wastage of resources (land, labour & capital). I would urge the govt officials to tour the airports of some foreign countries to get an idea of what international standard really is.
Zabi Now I have an idea about the size of the new airport project. Can someone provide the net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) of this project? I and everyone else would like to see the project float by its own merit. We simply cannot afford a white elephant built with public money.
Jumana Sarwar Do we really need another international airport in Dhaka? Except a few areas in Dhaka, we don't even have a proper sewerage system in the whole country. And we all are aware of the electricity problem. Do these politicians really care about their country? I doubt!
MMC We propose the name of the new international airport s be Sheikh Hasina International Airport. Presently, Sheikh Hasina is the only leader in Bangladesh.
Mobaidul Huq Why do they need to spend so much money on an airport. Currently, we have one in the capital. If they want to spend money then they should build new roads and repair the existing ones, build flyovers etc.
Md Farhan We definitely need this airport. The first impression any foreign investor gets after arriving is by looking at your airport. The main reason we have so less FDI is the lack of infrastructure and dismal look of our cities and roads. All the money except the land will come from FDI which will not only inflate our foreign currency reserve but also bring new businesses through air transit and will become a regional air hub.
Rawshan Iajdani The govt has changed Zia's name for no reason. Setting up a new airport surely will be wastage of money whereas we people do not enjoy the fundamental rights.
Nawshar We have to ensure that the airport will be of international standard in design and functionality. Keep in mind 50 years from now.
Yasin Have we done enough studies to understand the full economic impact of this project on the country? Would it not be more beneficial for us to develop our local infrastructure first?
Asad Uzzaman Will Prime Minister Hasina pledge to the nation that this new airport would not be named after our father of the nation? Only then we the citizens will know what the real motivation is. Please use the money to build international standard highways/freeways to replace the totally outdated and down right dangerous existing undivided highways connecting the major population centres. Every year far too many people are dying due to head-on collisions.
Masud Alam Present Dhaka international airport is not fully utilized. Only 40-50 % of its capacity is being utilized . Please do not go for projects like magnetic train anymore. We are not saudi Arabia, Qatar or Dubai.
Ameen Sayeed Building another airport without paying attention to basic necessities like power, health care, education and economic sustainability sounds ridiculous. People have a hard enough time getting to the existing one due to lack of proper planning. Wouldn't it make more sense to focus resources to fixing crippling traffic congestion first? Who will pay for this airport? What will be the benefit?
Shabbir Bashar The present airport is now in city-centre creating nuisance (noise pollution) for the hospitals and educational institutions during daytime. Citizens of the capital cannot have peaceful sleep at night. If the ground-breaking for the airport starts today then 20 or 30 years will pass by for full fledged operation. You can imagine the pressure of increased passenger traffic (8-9% per year).
Abdur Rauf We desperately need the current airport to be moved out of the city centre. The new airport should be relocated, it doesn't need to be state of the art, it can be built in phases over the years starting with a basic structure. In order to be economically competitive with our neighbours, we need new infrastructure like an airport with public transport connections and wide roads. Both Bangkok and KL moved their airports out further out of the city for a good reason and now those airports are thriving.
Antara We have to do everything which is needed for the development of our country. Now we should try to set up more and more power stations. We should remember that every sector is in ICU in our country. We have to be more alert.
Mamun May we know in whose interest this mega-project has been conceived? How much of the budget would be going into the pocket of the entrepreneurs? This plan smells something fishy because a country like Bangladesh has proved callously inefficient in handling the jobs in HSJI (Dhaka) Airport. So the proposed airport must be managed and controlled by some agencies/agency on heavy commission basis.
S. Ali
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