Mismanagement during AL regime: Third terminal needs extra Tk902cr to become operational

Highlights:

• Third terminal needs Tk902 crore more to become operational
• The terminal represents a state asset worth around $2.1 billion
• Project costs rose from Tk13,000 crore to Tk21,300 crore
• CAG identified irregularities involving around Tk4,469 crore
• Only 57% of third terminal's ORAT work is complete
• Seven of 54 Tourism Corporation units remain continuously loss-making

The government needs an additional Tk902 crore to make the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport operational and put the state asset, worth around $2.1 billion, into use, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat told parliament today (30 August).

He said the additional funds are required to complete the remaining work, clear outstanding payments to the contractor and settle dues owed to other agencies.

The minister made the remarks in response to a supplementary question from Noakhali-6 MP Abdul Hannan Masud during the question-answer session in parliament, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.

Hannan Masud said the estimated cost of the international terminal had increased from Tk13,000 crore to Tk21,300 crore in several phases.

He also said the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had identified irregularities involving around Tk4,469 crore and recommended recovering compensation from the contractor.

Given that around 99.91% of the work had already been completed, the MP asked whether raising the project cost by another Tk902 crore at the final stage could create an opportunity for corruption by the contractor.

In response, the aviation minister said there had been a tendency under the erstwhile Awami League regime to consider projects complete after merely inaugurating their buildings, criticising the then government's mismanagement.

However, important work involving machinery, systems and installations at the third terminal had been left incomplete, he said.

"An asset worth around $2.1 billion was on the verge of remaining unused," the minister said.

As a result, the government could not use the facility while repayments on a large portion of the loan taken from development partner Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had already begun, he said. Since the infrastructure was not operational, however, it was generating no revenue to service the debt.

After taking office, the current government reviewed the overall accounts and found that Tk902 crore was needed to complete the remaining work, settle some previous dues to the contractor and pay outstanding bills to other agencies, Millat said.

He said the additional allocation was being sought on the basis of transparency and that without it, the huge terminal would remain unusable, causing significant losses to the country.

Once the additional Tk902 crore is approved, the third terminal can be made operational quickly, he said.

The facility will allow the airport to handle twice its current passenger capacity of 1.2 million, according to the minister. Revenue generated from the terminal would also enable the government to repay the JICA loan, he added.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has applied to the Planning and Finance ministries for the additional allocation, he said.

57% of third terminal's operational readiness work completed

Meanwhile, around 57% of the Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) activities required to make the third terminal operational have been completed, the minister said in a written response to a separate question from Sultana Ahmed, MP for reserved women's seat-17.

The government and Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority (CAAB) are continuing work to complete the remaining ORAT activities within the scheduled timeframe, he said.

During the 2025-26 fiscal year, CAAB received 1,048 complaints related to baggage and ground handling at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport through its website and hotline. Of these, 1,040, or 99.23%, had been resolved, according to the minister.

Bangladesh Biman also received 2,160 complaints, of which 2,040 had been resolved – a settlement rate of around 94%.

'Domestic airfares do not reach Tk12,000'

In another supplementary question, MP Mozibur Rahman raised concerns over high domestic airfares and ticket black marketing.

He alleged that fares on domestic routes sometimes suddenly rise from Tk6,000 to Tk12,000, making air travel unaffordable for passengers.

The aviation minister said there was some misunderstanding over the issue.

"No regular one-way ticket has ever reached Tk12,000," he said, adding that fares could appear higher when return tickets or costs including special taxes are taken into account.

The basic ticket price remains within the prescribed range, while passengers also have to pay around 15% in government taxes, he said.

Taking all charges into account, the normal price of a ticket is around Tk6,300–Tk6,400, according to the minister.

He said unscrupulous groups sometimes create artificial shortages of tickets and attempt to sell them at inflated prices at the last minute.

The government is taking visible measures to stop such black marketing completely, he said.

The minister assured parliament that passengers would not have to buy tickets above the prescribed fare in future and that ordinary passengers would be able to purchase tickets at around the Tk6,400 level.  

Seven Tourism Corporation units remain loss-making

Seven of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation's 54 commercial establishments have been incurring losses continuously, the minister said in another response.

The loss-making units are Mujibnagar Tourism Motel in Meherpur, Jaflong Tourism Motel in Sylhet, Madhabkunda Restaurant in Moulvibazar, Sagardari Tourism Centre in Keshabpur, Jashore, Adarshanagar Tourism Centre in Mohanganj, Netrokona, Bardi Tourism Centre in Narayanganj, and Meghai Tourism Centre in Kazipur, Sirajganj.

The corporation has set a sales or revenue target of Tk216.57 crore for the 2026-27 fiscal year, Millat said.