The newly constructed third airport terminal constructed at considerable expense at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) has come up short on several fronts. Much hope had been pinned on the new terminal, which was touted at the time of its construction that it would greatly expand the cargo handling capacity of HSIA. Unfortunately, what it has boiled down to in the customs test is that the finished project is seriously falling short of the volume of cargoes that the third terminal was supposed to handle. This is indeed frustrating. It paints a grim picture about the lack of planning and forecasting at policy level to envisage precisely how much extra volume of cargo would need to be handled. The whole point of constructing this terminal was to address the serious cargo handling bottlenecks that HSIA had to endure for years. Hence, it is ridiculous to find now that as the terminal nears completion, more attention appears to have gone into how it would look cosmetically instead of addressing the technical specifications, in particular, the storage capacity of the complex.
As pointed out by customs officials, there is insufficient spaces in cargo villages on site. The new terminal has ended up with the same problem that HSIA has been suffering from for years. Once again, HSIA is witnessing the littering of cargo outside the terminal where they are exposed to the elements. Inspection is done under the open sky where goods routinely get damaged and importers' woes are once again been ignored. It would appear that there is disconnect between the designers of the new terminal and cargo demand. Why wasn't this factored into the planning and execution of the new terminal? Indeed, the report that customs sent to the national board of revenue (NBR) points out that the import-cargo complex is insufficient for the assessment period before release of imports. It is interesting to note that funds have been generously allocated in the beautification of the terminal including interior design, and yet, authorities failed to correctly assess future demand of cargo handling spaces. A study of HSIA's chronic storage problems would reveal that importers have long complained of insufficient cargo space and a refusal by ground handling authority to take responsibility for damage to goods left on the tarmac when they ought to have been in proper storage facilities.
History apparently is repeating itself and there is no excuse for this utter lack of project planning that has landed HSIA with the same problem it has had for years. Importers have been left in the lurch once again. Indeed, the list of inadequacies is a long one. Apparently, there is no examination yard for physical inspection, there is a lack of requisite manpower and logistics to conduct customs activity. Furthermore, the terminal has no USS (ULD Storage System) and no ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System).
The third terminal was supposed to be fully automated and obviously contractors failed to deliver. And now the inauguration has been delayed so that these inadequacies can be rectified and all the while importers are stuck with the same old problems. The current situation speaks volumes about the unprofessional approach to infrastructure development by certain agencies in the country. There is literally no accountability of either contractors or contracting authority to anyone and when things go terribly wrong, no heads roll and the culture of impunity reigns supreme while trade and traders continue to suffer.
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