Thai terminates Ctg airport contract with govt
Sunday, 17 June 2007
FE Report
Thai Airways International has unilaterally terminated a contract to operate Chittagong's international airport following Bangladeshi authorities' repeated failure to hand over management of the airport, according to a report received in Dhaka Friday.
Thai's board on Thursday resolved to cancel the 10-year management contract to run the Shah Amanat International Airport and also to pursue legal proceedings in Chittagong court for compensation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
The Thai national carrier has lost patience after allowing ample time for the CAAB to clear impediments, including protests from Biman Bangladesh Airlines employees and opposition from Bangladeshi politicians.
Thai management now believe there is no chance for the CAAB to clear the way for Thai to begin its work at Bangladesh's second-busiest airport.
"We no longer want to pay any attention to this project but to get compensation for the resources we invested," said a senior Thai executive.
An executive of Biman, which manages Shah Amanat, confirmed that Bangladesh's political problems had prevented the management handover to Thai.
CAAB officials recently told Thai that they wanted the Thai carrier to run the airport and were keen to see it participating in the new tender that could be called later to find a new airport service provider.
Thai was supposed to have begun operating the airport from Feb 1 last year but the handover was postponed several times.
The CAAB previously indicated to Thai that the airline could start managing the airport from September last year, following talks in Dhaka in August 2006 between former Thai foreign minister Kantathi Supamongkhon and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan.
Under that agreement aimed at appeasing Biman staff, Thai would allow Biman to provide ground handling services, cargo and catering for its own aircraft and passengers at Shah Amanat.
Thai would then concentrate on providing ground handling and passenger services for other international airlines, particularly focusing on those from the Middle East.
Thai viewed the business opportunities arising from foreign carriers would outweigh the benefits it would lose to Biman, given the rising number of flights and international carriers calling at Shah Amanat.
Under the original terms of reference in the 10-year agreement, Thai would have provided all the airport services to airlines and passengers.
The contract period was originally supposed to start from February 2006, the date from which Thai will now calculate its claims for compensation.
Thai would have earned US$9.06 million in fees from managing Shah Amanat, which was seen as a spearhead for the airline's ambitious plan to operate more medium-sized airports in Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Thai Airways International has unilaterally terminated a contract to operate Chittagong's international airport following Bangladeshi authorities' repeated failure to hand over management of the airport, according to a report received in Dhaka Friday.
Thai's board on Thursday resolved to cancel the 10-year management contract to run the Shah Amanat International Airport and also to pursue legal proceedings in Chittagong court for compensation from the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
The Thai national carrier has lost patience after allowing ample time for the CAAB to clear impediments, including protests from Biman Bangladesh Airlines employees and opposition from Bangladeshi politicians.
Thai management now believe there is no chance for the CAAB to clear the way for Thai to begin its work at Bangladesh's second-busiest airport.
"We no longer want to pay any attention to this project but to get compensation for the resources we invested," said a senior Thai executive.
An executive of Biman, which manages Shah Amanat, confirmed that Bangladesh's political problems had prevented the management handover to Thai.
CAAB officials recently told Thai that they wanted the Thai carrier to run the airport and were keen to see it participating in the new tender that could be called later to find a new airport service provider.
Thai was supposed to have begun operating the airport from Feb 1 last year but the handover was postponed several times.
The CAAB previously indicated to Thai that the airline could start managing the airport from September last year, following talks in Dhaka in August 2006 between former Thai foreign minister Kantathi Supamongkhon and Bangladeshi Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan.
Under that agreement aimed at appeasing Biman staff, Thai would allow Biman to provide ground handling services, cargo and catering for its own aircraft and passengers at Shah Amanat.
Thai would then concentrate on providing ground handling and passenger services for other international airlines, particularly focusing on those from the Middle East.
Thai viewed the business opportunities arising from foreign carriers would outweigh the benefits it would lose to Biman, given the rising number of flights and international carriers calling at Shah Amanat.
Under the original terms of reference in the 10-year agreement, Thai would have provided all the airport services to airlines and passengers.
The contract period was originally supposed to start from February 2006, the date from which Thai will now calculate its claims for compensation.
Thai would have earned US$9.06 million in fees from managing Shah Amanat, which was seen as a spearhead for the airline's ambitious plan to operate more medium-sized airports in Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, India, the Philippines and Indonesia.