Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir has urged the swift construction of infrastructure needed to resolve the country’s airport’s long-standing cargo handling problems. He said work on both temporary and permanent warehouses should move forward on an emergency basis rather than getting stuck in lengthy administrative processes.
He made the remarks Monday at a review meeting on expanding airport cargo handling capacity and progress on warehouse construction, held in the Commerce Ministry’s conference room with an eye toward boosting trade and investment between Bangladesh and the European Union (EU). The commerce minister chaired the meeting.
The commerce minister said responsibility for building and managing airport infrastructure lies with the relevant authority. Customs, he said, is responsible for ensuring the legality of imported and exported goods, along with the necessary declarations, documentation, and tariff-related matters, not for warehouse construction or infrastructure management.
He said Customs would carry out its operations once the necessary infrastructure was built, and that the infrastructure problems limiting cargo handling capacity therefore needed to be resolved quickly.
He added that although the matter does not fall directly under the Commerce Ministry’s mandate, it is closely tied to the country’s trade and export activities. Modern cargo management at the airport, he said, is particularly critical to expanding trade with the European Union, which is why the Commerce Ministry stands ready to provide the necessary support to resolve the problem.
To move the work forward quickly, he proposed involving a Commerce Ministry representative in an inter-ministerial coordination structure to run the process, which he said would improve coordination among all relevant parties and speed up implementation of decisions.
Stressing the need to swiftly finalize a site and the necessary arrangements for a temporary warehouse, the minister said any decision to lease or otherwise secure space should be made quickly, with the main goal being to bring the necessary facilities online as soon as possible.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam said at the meeting that efforts are under way collectively to transform Biman Bangladesh Airlines into a safer, more modern, and more effective organization. Resolving long-standing technical and infrastructural problems quickly is now a priority, she said, stressing the need to simplify necessary formalities and implement decisions swiftly while maintaining transparency and accountability.
The meeting also discussed progress on expanding the airport’s cargo handling capacity, speeding up the goods-clearance process, and building both temporary and permanent warehouses to reduce obstacles to trade and commerce. Participants discussed seven potential sites for a temporary warehouse and four potential sites for a permanent warehouse near the airport in detail.
The meeting was also attended by Commerce Ministry Secretary Md Ataur Rahman, Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Secretary Fahmida Akter, the managing director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, and senior officials from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank, and other relevant ministries.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report