With “Bangladesh First” as its watchword, the government has begun work to turn the country’s aviation sector into a regional hub. Our goal is to make Bangladesh a trillion-dollar economy by 2034, and the aviation industry is vital to that.
An airport is a mirror of its country. We have to lift our airport out of the state we found it in. Many speakers here have raised the various crises facing our airports and Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Their remarks made clear why foreigners are not keen to come here.
Why should foreigners come to Bangladesh, and what would they see? We did not think about tourism. We have rivers, seas, hills and forests. Have we nothing to draw people with? We have simply failed to manage those attractions properly.
The blame lies with the deposed government. That fascist government did little on that account. In truth, it did not love Bangladesh. We, though, can say that we love the country and want to work for it. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, everyone in the government is working with dedication for Bangladesh.
If the crises we face are to be resolved, we must be given the opportunity, the time and the cooperation.
We need to create an aviation hub, and we all know what that requires. It takes a fine airport, with cargo and passenger facilities of international standard. All of you have experience of airports elsewhere in the world and of how international airports are run. After 42 long years, we are about to change the rules governing civil aviation. The rules that stood in stakeholders’ way are being removed. We want to give stakeholders opportunities: that is our main objective.
You can be hopeful about the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. We have only just begun; in five years you will, I hope, be able to say as much. We are passing through many difficulties — a gas crisis, an electricity crisis. The aviation sector is also going through various crises. We are determined to tackle every one of these problems. We seek everyone’s advice, cooperation and participation.
I visited AirAsia not long ago, and saw their aircraft and the way they run them: how they get a plane ready in 25 minutes, how they keep tickets cheap. I am taking those lessons on board, and we want to put them into practice in Bangladesh. When one of our aircraft goes out of service it has to be sent to India or Singapore for repair, and then it has to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules.
We are moving to amend the civil aviation laws to help stakeholders. As civil aviation minister I will do so. To make investment in airlines easier, stakeholders must be ensured an active and voluntary role in drafting the regulations. Work has already begun and we will resolve every crisis in turn, step by step. I have already started discussions with you, and I expect to do so many more times in the coming days. I will take your counsel and suggestions on board as we press ahead with solving these problems. We will take whatever steps are needed to reduce the complications of maintaining and repairing complex parts at Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
We came to power and inherited a fragile and chaotic aviation sector. Accounts of passengers being harassed have surfaced on all sides, and one of our government’s priorities is to reduce that harassment. Torn bags turned up on the conveyor belt; luggage took an hour and a half, sometimes two, to appear. Much of that has been corrected in a matter of days. Staff now wear body cameras.
Three or four days ago I inspected the airport myself and gave instructions: the cargo door is to open at the same moment the passenger door does, so that passengers come off on one side while cargo comes off on the other, and every bag is on the belt within 18 to 40 minutes. I asked afterwards — it now takes no more than 40 minutes to collect a bag from the belt.
We have restarted work that the previous government cancelled. Cancelling it would have cost us nearly $2.1 billion. The scrapping of the Japanese consortium was genuinely shocking news. Why should we throw away $2.1 billion? The politicians before us never gave it a thought. Our prime minister weighed the matter and reinstated it.
There is some truth in the charge that we have none of this and none of that, that there is no runway, that buying planes is a waste of money. But we will put those things right. We have to think positively. All of it can be done.
As things stand, this airport can handle 12 million passengers. When the third terminal comes fully into service it will handle 24 million or more. We hope that figure will climb to 30 million, drawing more international aircraft into Bangladesh.
We will add further aircraft of our own. We have already held talks on budget airlines, and I have even spoken to Mr. Tony Fernandes, a leading figure in the sector. He is coming to meet our prime minister in November. He will set up an MRO here and launch a budget airline. Should this airport be unable to meet the expanded demand, we will consider a new one.
We have already taken various measures to develop the tourism industry. Under public-private partnership and joint venture models, and for those we cannot run ourselves, the private sector will be brought in to operate them.
We have undertaken many initiatives, but implementing them takes time. You can look at other countries that began with a handful of aircraft and today have vast fleets, because their aviation sectors were not subjected to a needless tug-of-war. Here, we are far more inclined towards doubt and suspicion. I thank US-Bangla, which is taking 21 Boeings on lease; it may bring in more. I hope others will come forward too. We also want to strengthen the state-run airline. Our prime minister wants civil aviation and tourism to rise to a new height. We look forward to everyone’s support in this effort.
[Aviation Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat made the remarks as the Chief Guest at the policy conclave titled “World-Class Aviation for Bangladesh’s Economic Development”, organised by The Daily Bonik Barta. His speech was translated for the English edition.]