Shawdesh desk:

Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) has financed the construction of Terminal 3 of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport under the Official Development Assistance Loans (ODA Loans) to Bangladesh.

The soft opening ceremony of Terminal 3 of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) was held on Saturday.

The soft opening ceremony of HSIA Terminal 3 was attended by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina; Md. Mahbub Ali, State Minister, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Md. Mokammel Hossain, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Air Vice Marshall M Mafidur Rahman, Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh; Komura Masahiko, parliamentary vice-minister, Foreign Affairs of Japan; Atsushi Uehara, vice-minister, Transport, Tourism, and International Affairs, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism of Japan; Iwama Kiminori, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh; and Ichiguchi Tomohide, chief representative, Jica Bangladesh.

Other official representatives from Jica were also present during the ceremony.

The construction of HSIA Terminal 3 was part of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Expansion Project.

The project was planned to expand the airport’s capacity, convenience, and safety to meet the evolving aviation demand and to promote Bangladesh’s economic growth.

The project includes the construction of Terminal 3, a cargo terminal, and related facilities needed for HSIA.

Terminal 3 consists of three floors above ground and one below, with a total floor area of 230,000m².

The passenger handling capacity of the terminal 3 is 12 million people annually.

Ichiguchi Tomohide, chief representative, Jica Bangladesh Office, stated: “Terminal 3 of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport funded by JICA under Japanese ODA is one of the flagship projects of Bangladesh-Japan friendship. Terminal 3, which will be the new gateway of international standard, will make drastic transformation in the aviation sector of Bangladesh by increasing the capacity to more than double and positively changing the impressions of Bangladesh, and thereby significantly contribute to economic development of Bangladesh. Building on the 50-year partnership and trust, JICA walk with and stand by the people and government of Bangladesh for its sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development.”

The first tranche of the Loan Agreement between JICA and the government of Bangladesh was signed in June 2017, and the second tranche was signed in August 2020.

The total cost of the project was approximately 264,457 million Japanese Yen.

It is expected to cover more than 70% of the total cost of HSIA Terminal 3 by JICA ODA Loans.

The contractor for the project is the Joint Venture of Mitsubishi Corporation, Fujita, and Samsung C&T Corporation (one package for the entire civil works).

The consultant of the project is the joint venture of Nippon Koei, Oriental Consultants Global, and others.