Shahjalal Airport's third terminal cannot be opened during interim govt: Adviser Bashir
Dhaka: The third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will not be opened during the tenure of the interim government, said Sheikh Bashir Uddin, Adviser to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.
He made the statement at a press conference held at the Secretariat on January 5.
Responding to a question on whether the third terminal would be inaugurated under the current government, the aviation adviser said, “No, we will not be able to open it during this government’s term. We made every possible effort to make the third terminal operational. I personally met with the Japanese vice minister and held negotiations. We tried our best, but our efforts were probably not successful.”
He added that the government is currently working to keep the necessary procedural mechanisms active for future actions. “The next government will take a decision on this matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and the Japanese consortium selected to operate the Tk21,000-crore third terminal have collapsed, as both sides failed to resolve key disagreements despite multiple rounds of talks.
Officials directly involved in the process said the latest two-day negotiation, held on 24–25 November, ended without any progress due to unresolved disputes over revenue sharing and the income-expenditure model.
Representatives of the consortium claimed that CAAB is unwilling to share revenue from major income sources and is instead insisting on an “India-style income-expenditure model,” which they say is incompatible with the consortium’s international-standard proposal.
The third terminal was soft-launched in October 2023 and was originally scheduled to become fully operational by December 2024. However, delays in importing equipment, frequent leadership changes, and political transitions have pushed the timeline to December 2025. CAAB has now stated that it cannot commit to a firm opening date.
