Prime Minister Directs Rapid Opening of Shahjalal International Airport’s Third Terminal
Prime Minister Tarek Rahman has directed the rapid opening of the long-awaited Third Terminal at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. On Sunday afternoon, during a review meeting held at the Cabinet Conference Room of the Secretariat, he instructed the concerned authorities to complete the necessary preparations as quickly as possible. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam informed journalists of this during a briefing after the meeting.
The minister said, “The Prime Minister is making efforts to ensure the Third Terminal can be opened soon. She has issued instructions in this regard. Discussions and reviews are ongoing to determine how we can operationalize it in the shortest possible time.” However, no specific timeline was provided for the official inauguration of the terminal.
The Third Terminal project was initiated by the then Bangladesh Awami League government in 2017. Construction officially began on December 28, 2019. The massive infrastructure project, costing approximately 213 billion BDT, is funded by nearly 50 billion BDT from the government, with the remainder financed through a JICA loan.
On October 7, 2023, the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina partially inaugurated the Third Terminal. At that time, the Civil Aviation Authority announced that full operations could commence by 2024. During the inauguration, it was stated that the terminal’s launch would mark a new era in the country’s aviation sector, providing advanced facilities, modern infrastructure, and international-standard services.
Although over 99 percent of construction has been completed, delays in finalizing ground handling and operational management, along with some technical issues, have prevented the terminal from becoming fully operational. Regarding this, Minister Afroza Khanam said, “Questions about why it was not opened earlier could have been raised then. Now, the Prime Minister herself is taking the matter seriously.”
The new terminal has a floor space of 230,000 square meters. It will feature 115 check-in counters, 66 departure immigration desks, 59 arrival immigration desks, and three VIP desks. Once fully operational, passenger handling capacity will triple to 24 million per year. Cargo handling capacity is also expected to double to one million tons annually.
On the same day, the minister attended a review meeting on Hajj management progress at the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry conference room. She said, “We must ensure that Hajj pilgrims do not face any kind of inconvenience. It is our ethical duty as state employees.” The meeting was attended by State Minister for Aviation M. Rashiduzzaman Millat, Secretary of the Ministry Nasrin Jahan, and Secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs Md. Kamal Uddin.
According to sources from the meeting, the government aims to reach an effective decision, coordinating all relevant departments, to ensure the rapid operationalization of the Third Terminal.
