Runway Part 2

Bangladesh needs to explore all avenues to build its infrastructure for better international connectivity. One essential component for this is to highlight investment in air travel; both passenger and cargo travel, at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Currently a third Terminal is being built as a priority project of the government at a total cost of ৳21,300 crore (US$2.5 billion). The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) operates and maintains the airport.

With the completion of Terminal three in 2022 the HSIA’s annual passenger handling capacity will increase to 20 million from the current eight million. And the annual cargo handling capacity will also increase to 500,000 tons from the current 200,000 tons. However, the HSIA has only one runway for servicing international flights, domestic flights, and for use by the Bangladesh Air Force.

Currently eight flights take off and land every hour at the HSIA. With one runway and three terminals travel will increase, however, plane handling capacity will not increase, and there will be longer queues for planes taking off and landing, resulting in a bottleneck and serious traffic congestions.

A second runway will not only increase flight handling capacity but will be useful in times of emergency, when for example if one of the runways is damaged or cannot be used due to maintenance. There is enough space to build the second runway. In 2014 a feasibility study was conducted to add a parallel, second runway at a cost of ৳10 billion (US$120 million). The project was undertaken to cope with the rising air traffic, alleviating pressure from the lone runway and essentially doubling the capacity of the airport.

 HSIA has an area of 802 hectares (1,981 acres) and 60% of the airport's land currently remains unutilized so there is enough space to build a second runway. There should be no reason to delay building a second runway as a priority project.

In comparison to our neighbors and economic competitors; India’s Kolkata Netaji Shubhash Chandra Airport has two parallel runways, as well as Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport.