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Launch new airline with 50pc Biman assets

Taskforce suggests


FHM HUMAYAN KABIR | February 04, 2025 00:00:00


A government-formed taskforce has suggested the government establish a new airline - Bangladesh Airways - by utilising half of Biman Bangladesh Airlines' existing assets, and appoint an independent, world-class company for its management.

It also recommended Biman's existing operations continue with the remaining half of its assets.

"A world-class company like Singapore Airlines or Qatar Airways should be appointed to operate half of Biman's functions. The rest will be operated by our existing company. Then we can realise which one is better to make the state-owned company viable," said head of the taskforce KAS Murshid at a briefing at the planning commission in Dhaka on Monday.

Earlier, the taskforce named "Re-strategising the Economy and Mobilising Resources for Equitable and Sustainable Development" finalised its report and submitted it to the chief adviser on January 31.

The report said Biman, the national flag carrier, has failed to meet modern aviation standards and performance benchmarks for over half a century.

"Its continued existence has largely depended on serving a captive market of migrant labourers, many of whom have reported poor and inadequate services. To ensure that Biman becomes a competitive player in the airline industry, the government must establish clear and measurable performance targets," it said.

"This dual-structure approach allows both airlines to target distinct markets and routes and fosters healthy competition. If either airline fails to meet performance standards over a specific period, it must be permitted to exit the market, ensuring accountability and efficient service for travellers," it added.

Speaking about Biman at the briefing, Planning and Education Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud said it is a "worthless" organisation, which must be made commercially viable.

"What is the necessity of having an individual with an air force background as the chairman or managing director or chief executive officer (CEO) of Biman? This post should be held by someone with experience in the global aviation industry. Becoming commercially viable should be Biman's main objective, but that has not happened over the last five decades," he noted.

He thanked the taskforce and said the chief adviser has already taken initiatives to make Biman a viable company.

The taskforce report also recommended establishing a specialised "anti-goon squad" within the security services. The squad members can be called in to physically dismantle unwanted elements on institutional premises in a bid to improve public agencies' service delivery.

"The prevalence of extortion is a recurring and significant issue faced by citizens while accessing public services, such as purchasing train tickets or obtaining passports. This deeply-entrenched problem extends beyond public services into markets, transportation systems, and construction sites," said the report.

"To address this urgent concern, we strongly recommend the establishment of an independent anti-goon squad. This dedicated unit could operate within the public sector or be outsourced to private security firms, provided there are robust safeguards to prevent misuse," it said.

Moreover, monitoring and oversight by youth and citizen groups must play a central role in ensuring the squad's effectiveness, the taskforce noted.

Replying to a question, Murshid, also a former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), said, "At least we have to be pragmatic and need to start now amid this absence of political influences."

Speaking about the recommendation to ban student politics at educational institutions, he said, "We were never against politics at educational institutions for people's welfare. But we have recommended disallowing political party-based politics."

Prof Mahmud said every educational institution should have a better code of conduct for students. "If the code allows politics, student politics will be there. If not, then it should not be there."

When asked about the interim government's priority regarding the taskforce report, he said the chief adviser has already asked every adviser to consider at least one recommendation and work on it.

About the taskforce's recommendation for technical education, Dr Mahmud said the government is thinking about improving technical education and its certification.

"The previous government only established buildings at polytechnic institutes. Interestingly, there is nearly an 80 per cent shortage of teaching staff there," he noted.

He also said there is a huge gap between the diploma and technical university education systems in Bangladesh.

"The diploma holders are getting neither better education nor social recognition. So, it has to be assessed whether we can upgrade the diploma degree to bachelor's of applied technology," he further said.

Speaking about the financial sector, Dr Fahmida Khatun, a taskforce member and executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said the central bank's autonomy faded because of the roles of the previous government and some governors too.

Under the influence of bureaucrats, the government created the Financial Institutions Division (FID) under the Ministry of Finance to obstruct the central bank's autonomy, which resulted in a mess in the financial sector, she said. The FID should be abolished immediately to empower the central bank and its regulatory framework, she added.

Another taskforce member and former Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) president Syed Nasim Manzur said the FID should be abolished as soon as possible to ensure discipline in the financial sector.

He said public services should be improved for the country's betterment.

The renowned businessman recommended a better tariff policy, a new arbitration law, merger of the two Dhaka city corporations into a single municipality, and following the World Trade Organisation (WTO)-compliant mechanism to face the post-least developed country (LDC) challenges.

Among others, taskforce member Prof Selim Raihan of Dhaka University, transport expert Prof Shamsul Hoque, BIDS Research Director Dr Monzur Hossain, and bdjobs CEO AKM Fahim Mashroor also spoke at the briefing.

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