Runway in the sea to be active by December

The country’s longest runway, at the Cox’s Bazar Airport, is expected to be ready for use by December this year. The expansion work of the runway that runs into the sea will be completed by then, ahead of schedule. This will be the first such runway, sometimes touted maritime runway, in the country built on land reclaimed from the Bay of Bengal. Once in service, large aircraft like Boeing 777s and Boeing 747s would be able to land at the airport, said officials of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
Meanwhile, CAAB has start the process to hire consultants for drawing detail design to turn the airport into a regional aviation hub with necessary facilities. It is implementing the project hiring a Chinese joint venture firm — China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China’s Changjiang Yichang Waterway Engineering Bureau (CYWEB).
“Our target is to finish the project by the timeline. By this year, we hope to complete the major scope of the work, including the runway, and hand it over to the authorities,” Li Guangqi, the site manager of CCECC, told this correspondent on July 14. Despite the challenges, including the Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, the project saw 77 percent progress so far, he said, adding, “We are ahead of schedule.”
The rest of the work will be done by the deadline of May 10 next year. The Cox’s Bazar Airport started its journey as a domestic airport in 1956. Four airlines now operate domestic flights to the airport, located 1.5km from Cox’s Bazar town and 396km from Dhaka. In the first phase, the runway was extended to 9,000 feet from 6,775 feet and widened from 120 feet to 200 feet. In 2019, the government took up a Tk 1,568.86-crore project, aiming to upgrade the airport to international standards and offer foreign holidaymakers a hassle-free trip to the world’s longest sea beach.
In February 2021, CAAB signed a deal with the Chinese joint venture firm to expand the runway to 10,700 feet, which will make it the longest runway in the country. The length of the runway of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka is nearly 10,500 feet. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the runway extension work in August 2021. Musharraf Hussain, project coordinator, said they had to deal with many challenges including high tide and low tide and Covid-19 situation. He said many of the construction materials had to import amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Still they are ahead of the schedule, he added
Musharraf said they had to reclaim around 520m land from the sea for the runway and install lights on further 600 metres to facilitate landing of aircraft. Boulders and concrete blocks were piled up surrounding the reclaimed land as protection measure. The contractor has built a makeshift jetty for offloading materials for the construction, he said. Project Director Md Younus Bhuiyan said they were also hopeful of making the 10,700 feet runway operational by December. He, however, said they were experiencing some problems in importing construction materials due to dollar crisis. “But the Bangladesh Bank governor, after our top authority met him, assured us of solving the problem,” he told The Daily Star yesterday. Asked when the airport will be ready for international flights, he said apart from the runway extension work, construction of the terminal building among other work has to be completed. He said the terminal, being built under a different project, is expected to be ready by June next year.
Replying to another query, Younus said to make the airport a regional hub, the aviation authority has started the process for floating tenders to hire consultants. Once hired, the consultants will prepare a detailed design and provide estimated cost within nine months, he said.