But what if the airport is to be named after Mujib?
--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Farida Majid <farida_majid@...> wrote:
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> Let us all protest AGAINST this dubious need for another International Airport.
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> I am a conservationist. I see no need to destroy the geologically important wetland of Arial Beel.
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> Farida Majid
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> To:
> From: bd_mailer@...
> Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 18:47:48 -0800
> Subject: [ALOCHONA] Why another int'l airport?
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> Why another int'l airport?
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> Shahabuddin Ahmad
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> The State Minister for Housing & Public Works, Advocate Abdul Mannan Khan, in an effort to drum up support, has been haranguing the people of greater Dhaka district and promising a new airport and a new city in the Airal Beel, one of the three leading water bodies of the country, spreading over a few police stations of Munshingonj and Dhaka districts.
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> According to newspaper reports supporters of the Government came in to hear the State Minister because he promised them better life, employment and economic activities which the promised airport will bring. It is not his ministerial responsibility, while the Minister for Civil Aviation & Tourism, GM Quader decided not to speak on the matter.
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> Vehement opposition
> The other side of the picture is that people of Dhaka, Munshiganj and the other adjoining areas, who are going to be affected due to their apprehended eviction, vehemently opposed the setting up of the projects and they have robustly said through organised demonstration that the projects could be built over their dead bodies only. Such opposition to the proposed airport is, however, not new. People of Trishal, Mymensingh, Faridpur, Gopalgonj and Madaripur also agited against the project earlier. Total area of land that the Government has plans to acquire for the airport is far more in access than necessary. Shahjalal International Airport has an area of 2,000 acres whereas for the proposed airport the plan is to acquire 15,000 acres and for the proposed Bangabandhu City an area of 10,000 acres.
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> Hundreds of thousands of people live in and around the waterbody and earn their living from here. It has an area of 1,66,600 acres and generally goes under 20-25 ft. water during the rainy season and 5 ft. during the dry season. Rice (40,000 MT), fish (700 MT) and vegetables (10,000 MT) grow here and the total estimated value is around Tk. 40,000 (forty thousand) crore.
> The base of the Beel is made up of 'pit coal' according to a satellite picture which was released earlier about the formation of the land mass in Airal Beel and this information is already known.
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> Pit coal cannot bear heavy load of widebodied aircraft as a result of which the foundation is likely to sink according to experts.
> A study undertaken a few years back by a Danish Firm for upgrading of Shahjalal International Airport, then known as Zia International Airport, indicates the following projections in respect of aircraft movement and passengers' growth of the airport.
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> This shows that there is ample scope for Shahjalal International Airport to handle more aircraft every hour and more passengers up to 2025. The study further says that by the year 2030 the airport will be able to handle 1.80 crore passengers with the implementation of some development projects for modernization of the airport.
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> 3 international airports
> There are three International Airports, in Bangladesh now, namely, Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Shah Amanat Airport in Chittagong and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet. All these airports are capable of receiving and sending wide bodied aircraft including Boeing-747. Shahjalal Airport was established in 1979, Chittagong airport was upgraded with Japanese Financial and Technical Assistance in the year 1998 and the Osmani International Airport in Sylhet has been upgraded gradually.
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> Shahjalal International Airport, (one runway 10,500 ft. long) formally known as Zia International Airport, due to its overwhelming use, as it handles about 90 per cent of the total air passengers and cargo, has already been expanded by adding a cargo village, multistoried car park, renovation of departure lounge and extension of the terminal building.
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> A project was taken up by the CAAB to upgrade Shahjalal International Airport under mixed credit financing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark at a cost of Tk. 41,404 lakh and it was approved by the government in 2008. The components of the project are: i) Re-construction of Taxi-way; ii) Modernization of drainage System; iii) Procurement of Maintenance equipment; iv) Procurement of Visual guidance; v) Procurement of Primary and Secondary Radar; vi) Procurement of Navigational Aids; vii) Procurement of Radio-Communication equipment; viii) Extension & construction of operation building; Refurbishment of transmitting building etc. The process of inviting tenders are still under inter-ministerial consultations, although the project was supposed to be initiated physically earlier and completed by 2012.
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> Adverse impact
> The question now arises that since Shahjalal International Airport (SIA) will be able to handle 1.80 crore passengers by 2030 and a plan is already under process of finalisation, why construct a new airport in a wetland area at a proposed cost of Tk. 50,000 crore for which thousands of people will be displaced, agricultural produce worth Tk. 40,000 crores annually will be destroyed and damage the ecology and bio-diversity of the Airal Beel area?
> The cronies of the government who support the establishment of the airport and a new city in Airal Beel --- both in the name of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman --- often cite well-known airports such as, Osaka Kansai International Airport in Japan and Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong which have been built on islands and say that building the proposed airport in the Airal Beel will not pose any problem.
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> Those who advise the Government in this fashion do really live in ivory towers because the level of economic development and technological achievement of Japan and Hong Kong are not comparable with that of Bangladesh. Besides, the agency in Japan and Hong Kong took long time to study the need for expansion, whereas, the present government has not done any serious home work for the project yet, although information is available that foreign firms are lobbying with the high ups of the government for the project.
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> Osaka Kansai International Airport was built on an artificial island of 2.5 miles in length and land filling alone took 3 years. It stands on columns which can be adjusted to subsidence. This is one of the most expensive airport in the world and took 7 years for Japan to construct the airport. The Chek Lap Kok Airport is a replacement of the former Kaitak Airport of HK, established in 1925. The completion of this airport also took 7 years from 1991-1998 and the cost was US$ 20 billion. It has been built partly in hilly area, partly on an artificial island.
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> Danida study
> The Danida study, a work of professionals, says that in the very long run after forecast and the master plan period it may be necessary to add a new runway parallel to the present one, suggesting it to be located on the Western site of the present runway. Alternately, when the traffic in far distant future will exceed the maximum available runway capacity, a relocation of the entire airport to a remote site must be considered. The SIA will take, therefore, another 25 years to reach the suggested stage according to the recommendations in the study.
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> As a matter of fact in its study, Danida has said that even though economic and social progress have been achieved by Bangladesh during the last decade, Bangladesh still continue to be one of the poorest country of the world due to prevailing social, political and economic reasons. If, however, for any God-sent boom and due to unforeseen priority yet unknown either to the Government or to the gentry of the country, the number of air passengers increase by leaps and bounds, SIA can be expanded within its existing area as mentioned before by offering efficient management of passenger handling, landing parking, take off facilities, modern control tower, expansion of terminal building and if necessary transferring the domestic service to the old Tejgaon Airport which, most of the time is idle. For emergency services, in case of accidents and temporary closure, alternate airports in Chittagong and Sylhet can help as air bridges.
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> Feasibility study
> The government, therefore, should engage itself first to have a feasibility study including a market survey to justify the need for a international airport and if the studies are found to be giving good justifications economically, socially, and politically then only the Government can take up the projects and NOT now. I refer here to a story which Abdul Mannan, a former State Minister for Civil Aviation & Tourism, and who also served as the Managing Director of Biman and Director of Finance of the same organization, wrote in the concluding parts of his commentary "Airal Beel Airport". It says, "In fine we may quote the famous story of the invisible robe, the King and his wise counsels. The master tailor pantomimically dressed the King with the invisible robe. Learned Counsels started praising the robe. The King came to his senses when a little boy cried out, Oh, look, the King is naked". We need a little boy with courage to tell the Government, the unalloyed truth.
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