Time to revamp ZIA?

[Rabz]

With all these talks going about our booming airline industry, currently at 8% per annum, i think the time is right to consider about renovating our Zia International Airport, or built a new one.

Almost every other day in the newspaper, you'd read a new airliner starts a flight to/from Dhaka or seeking permission to do so.

Currently our ZIA, in terms of its facilities, probably ranks in the lower bottom of the airport list around the world.

Keeping in per with our economic growth, we will certainly experience a surge in the passenger number both locally and internationally.

Keeping this in mind, and with a vision of next 20 years, i think we should start planning for a new, improved Dhaka International Airport.

Not only it would provide with a better passenger facilities, but we could also be a hub for transit passenger of the likes of Singapore. I know its a little bit over-ambitious vision but there is nothing wrong in trying to make a name for ourselves.

ZIA also needs to be relocated from Uttara. When it was built back in the 80's, the airport was at the end of the city. But with the continuing expansion of our capital, ZIA is pretty much IN the city right now. With more and more high rise buildings, it would also be a problem later on in terms of safety and noise pollution.

What do you guys thinks?

[al Furqaan]

decent idea...however politics might come into play as always. some BNP ppl might say (similar to cricket leaving BNS) that the airport must remain Zia.

but i'd agree...seems air traffic to dhaka is increasing.

[Fazal]

I agree we need to revamp or rebuild a new one. Rebuiling a new one further away from city may be a better long term idea.

About naming it, I hope it doesn't become a issue. If they revamp it, they can keep the same name (i.e. Zia). IF they make a new one, a new name makes more sense from any past national heros (either political or non-political).

[Rabz]

How about calling it

Airport 71 ?

Now, we kill two birds in one stone.

First, we name our new airport after the year of our indendence, 1971.

Second, those who dont know ( many foreign travellers), would ask, why 71?

That would be good platform to teach/inform them about 1971 and our Independence war.
We could also have one of those information booth about the airport and the history behind its naming.

It would also take away all sort of political debacles.

[Kana-Baba]

At first look I thought that you are trying to make a VAMPIRE out of the departed soul of late president ZIA.

[billah]

Monologue

(বাংলায় কটা কথা আছেঃ
আদার ব্যাপারীর জাহাজের খবরে কাম কি?
যার বিয়া তার ধুম নাই, পাড়া পড়শীর ঘুম নাই) ইত্যাদি ইত্যাদি

[GoldenAsif]

I don't know too much about what the government plans to do with ZIA. However some of the information (which I gain from certain sources) which I have said on this forum has come true. I foretold of Hasina and Khaleda having to 'enjoy' prison food when quite a few were sceptical. The fact is what is happening now in Bangladesh is very rare. The Bangladesh military which contributes either the most or second most soldiers for UN peacekeeping operations was involved in building hospitals, clinics and mosques and nation-building as a whole in Africa and other areas. The country was on the verge of a possible civil war with certain politicians even speaking of that and other commentators speaking of the country being divided. The military stepped in and have stabilized the country and helped the country to progress. Just as my sources informed me that Hasina and Khaleda would be eating prison food I am also being told that after the elections there will be a National Security Council which will allow the military to keep a vigilant eye on civilian politicians and any possible moves by them to destabilize the country but as long as the civilian politicians stay within the parameters of not trying to destroy Bangladesh they will of course be able to run the country due to their democratic mandate. Now coming to the airline industry and the issue of ZIA, this is one thing which is on the governments agenda in terms of modernization alongside other things such as developing an areospace industry (a decision already taken by the military), construction of a metro system (plans for that have yet to be finalized) and so on.





2 proposed maps of a potential Dhaka underground system.

This article is from September 2007.

Government plans $52 million ZIA modernisation project
Zahedul Islam

The government has planned to install a new radar system and other communication and navigational equipment at the Zia International Airport to ensure safe and secure operation of aircraft.
The government, under the $52 million ‘Upgrading of Zia International Airport’ project, has also planned to strengthen the taxiway of the country’s largest airport to accommodate the wide-bodied passenger planes which are heavier than other airliners.
‘We need to replace the radar urgently as the present one is obsolete in the modern air traffic control system,’ said an official of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, the executing agency of the project.
The present radar at the Zia airport was installed in 1984 on a turnkey basis by a French company. The radar has undergone major repair two times in the past, and its present condition is not good because one part of the radar is fully out of order.
The government of Denmark will provide ‘mixed credit loan’ for implementation of the project which will help the CAAB to comply with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, an agency of the United Nations, which codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation.
Civil aviation ministry officials said the project proposal has been sent to the Economic Relations Division for completing the necessary formalities before signing an agreement with the Danish government in this regard.
In view of the importance of the project, civil aviation adviser MA Matin, in a recent letter to finance adviser Mirza Azizul Islam, requested him to take personal initiative for implementation of the project.
In the letter, Matin said that ZIA would be radar-less if a new It was decided in July that the food ministry would import 4.5 lakh tons of rice and 3.5 lakh tons of wheat. But the ministry has been unable so far to carry out the decision due to price hike of the items on the international market and poor response from bidders in the procurement process, food ministry sources said.
Finance ministry sources said the prices quoted by bidders to the food ministry were higher than local prices of rice and wheat, which prompted the ministry to ask the BDR to import the food grains through Rifles Enterprises.
Top officials of the BDR said they had already contacted suppliers of rice and wheat in India, Pakistan, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine and the USA and received assurance of getting the required quantity of the food grains.
‘We have already completed the major preparatory tasks, including negotiation on prices, for importing rice and paddy,’ Colonel Mohammed Abdul Halim, director, operations and training, of the BDR told New Age.
He said, ‘We will be able to sell the imported rice and wheat through our outlets at two to five taka less than their market prices.’

http://www.newagebd.com/2007/sep/02/front.html#4

As for more specific more current information on ZIA I do not know but for those who are interested they can read http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...327051&page=71.

[ammark]

Rabz bhai ki bolen? ei to koyek mash hoilo nirman kaaj shesh hoilo. Abar revamp?

Borongcho we need security guards and CAAB personnel at ZIA who arent on 24/7 power trips and instead deliver customer service!