Bangladesh has sought a revised proposal quickly from the Japanese side over managing the operation and maintenance of the third terminal of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka, said official sources.
The request was made during a meeting between officials of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Affairs Ministry (MoCAT), Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and a Japanese delegation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday.
The issue is expected to be discussed again at another meeting, likely to be held by the end of March.
After nearly a year, the two sides have resumed talks in a renewed effort to operationalise the long-delayed third terminal on a win-win basis, according to meeting sources.
While attending the meeting, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rashiduzzaman Millat urged the Japanese delegation to submit a revised proposal on the operation and maintenance of the third terminal soon.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed a proposal presented by the Japanese delegation regarding the terminal's operation and maintenance.
"We had a productive meeting. We are working to make the third terminal operational as soon as possible, following the instruction of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. We hope to reach a win-win agreement with Japan to open the new terminal," Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanom Rita told reporters after the meeting.
The high-level meeting marked the first formal negotiation under the newly formed BNP-led government, signalling a renewed push to resolve contractual and operational deadlocks that have kept the nearly completed third terminal idle.
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam Rita, Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Humayun Kabir, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Rashiduzzaman Millat and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam represented Bangladesh during the negotiations, among others.
The Japanese delegation included Charge d'Affaires of the Japan Embassy in Bangladesh Takahashi Naoki and Assistant Vice Minister of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Rieko Nakayama, along with other senior officials. Due to a lack of consensus on several key conditions, talks with the Japanese consortium, primarily selected to manage the operation and maintenance of the terminal, were stalled last year.
In this situation, the CAAB was searching an alternative skilled operator for the most important installation of the country's aviation sector, keeping an option to operate it by using its own resources and expertise.
However, after coming to power, the BNP-led government placed importance on operating the third terminal as soon as possible and, as part of this effort, resumed talks with the Japanese side.
Due to unavailability of an operator, the project involving Tk 213.99 billion cannot be brought into commercial operation though it has almost been fully completed.
CAAB Officials repeatedly claimed that they have held extensive discussions with the consortium, but could not finalise the agreement.
The Japanese consortium comprising four private companies and two government organisations were primarily selected to get operation and maintenance work of the third terminal for 15 years as the preliminary bid discussion went on successfully.
If the negotiations are completed, the operator would need to recruit personnel, conduct training, and provide equipment instruction to them. Finally they have to check the equipment by running them. All these formalities will take some time.
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport currently has two terminals but running with almost 50 per cent additional burden comparing its capacity.
It has the capacity of handling eight million passengers in a year, but is now handling average 12 to 13 million passengers.
Upon full-fledged operation of the third terminal, HSIA's annual passenger and cargo handling capacity is expected to double. The annual passenger handling capacity of the HSIA would be 24 million (including the old terminals).
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