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The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has urged the government to introduce incentives and new facilities to unlock the full potential of Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram and turn it into a regional aviation and logistics hub.
CCCI President Mohammed Amirul Haque made the proposals in a letter to Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury on August 15.
Among the key proposals are round-the-clock airport operations, a 40% concessional tariff on airport facilities, passenger pick-up and drop-off during long-haul flight stopovers, and transit and refuelling facilities for international flights.
The CCCI also called for developing cargo villages and establishing Inland Container Depot (ICD) and Container Freight Station (CFS) facilities in areas surrounding the airport.
Amirul said private businesses were prepared to develop the required infrastructure under Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Build-Own-Operate (BOO) and Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) models.
He said the business community would support the government’s goal of building a trillion-dollar economy by 2034 and developing Chattogram into a regional investment and logistics hub.
Chattogram is already a major commercial and industrial centre, hosting the country’s principal seaport, large wholesale markets, export processing zones, special economic zones and a significant share of Bangladesh’s industrial establishments.
Despite having the country’s second-largest international airport and much of the infrastructure needed to serve passengers and cargo, however, its capacity remains significantly underutilised, Amirul said.
He argued that the airport has considerable scope to handle more passenger and cargo traffic and attract additional transit and connecting flights.
Developing the airport as an east-west aviation gateway would also strengthen tourism and logistics while easing growing pressure on Dhaka’s aviation infrastructure, he said.
Amirul pointed to the government’s efforts to make Mongla Port more competitive through lower tariffs under its strategic master plan, arguing that a similar incentive-based approach should be adopted for Chattogram airport.
He called for an attractive stimulus package or concessional tariff structure to encourage airlines, cargo operators and other businesses to make greater use of the airport’s facilities.
“Utilising its full capacity and potential to attract more passengers and cargo traffic” would help support Bangladesh’s broader economic growth, he said.