Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) is likely to award the work order for the construction of an international passenger terminal building at Cox's Bazar Airport by this month, a top CAAB official said.
The 0.11-million sq ft passenger terminal building will be constructed with CAAB's own fund of Tk 2.65 billion, making the Cox's Bazar Airport as the fourth international one in the country.
The project is scheduled to be completed by December 2018. There will be a connecting taxiway and an apron with the terminal.
However, CAAB will start the extension work of the existing domestic passenger terminal building as a measure to ease congestion until the construction of the international terminal is completed. The area of the present terminal building including arrival, departure and VIP arrival lounge is 10,000 sq ft.
When contacted, CAAB chairman Air Vice Marshal M Nasim Hassan told the FE that the evaluation process of the financial proposal has already been completed. It will be sent to the purchase committee this week. Hopefully, the work will be awarded by March, he added.
"Five companies participated in the tender process of which three qualified. We have selected one company that will get the work," said Mr Nasim, declining to disclose the name of the awardee.
Cox's Bazar Airport upgradation project director Mohammed Aminul Hashib has recently told the FE that they will extend the existing domestic terminal building doubling the present size as the number of passengers has increased sharply in recent years, creating congestion and discomfort.
Besides, big-sized aircraft like Boeing of Biman are landing here with three-time higher passengers than a small aircraft.
The work will cost Tk 40 million, he said. At present, the capacity of the terminal is 150. With the extension, it will be possible to accommodate 150 more passengers.
A D-8 aircraft carries only 50-60 passengers, but Boeing aircraft alone carries 150 passengers, Mr Hashib added.
A joint-venture construction company of National Development Engineers Ltd and China Railway First Group has qualified for the work. The construction of the extended terminal building is expected to be completed within next six months.
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