Seven Risks Identified in the Runways of Three Airports
- The runways of Jessore, Saidpur, and Shah Makhdum airports are in such a condition that accidents could occur at any time.
- Although the project deadline has expired, around 30% of the work is still incomplete.
Collected Photo
Seven types of risks have been identified in the runways of three airports in Bangladesh. These include: insufficient runway strip width and runway end safety area (RESA), issues caused by partial overlay, water accumulation, absence of runway edge and threshold lighting, uncertainty regarding long-term durability, surface unevenness, and improper compaction.
These issues were identified during the evaluation of the project titled “Concrete Overlay of Runway Surfaces at Jessore, Saidpur, and Shah Makhdum Airports.” The project is also progressing slowly.
Former Secretary of the IMED (Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division), Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin, said that such risks should not exist at sensitive infrastructures like airports, as they can lead to accidents at any time.
Speaking to Agamir Somoy, he said, “These risks should have been identified and resolved at the very beginning by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. But IMED only identified the problems at the end of the project period. The question is when will they be resolved?”
He added that if any negligence is found through investigation, those responsible must be held accountable. He also warned that due to slow implementation, there is a risk of increased costs and extended deadlines. Those responsible for timely monitoring failed in their duties, which he termed a serious lapse.
According to the draft of IMED’s intensive monitoring report, the total estimated cost of the runway improvement project for the three airports is Tk 5,667.6 million (566.76 crore). As of April, 56.66% of the budget has been spent, which is slightly more than half. The original project duration was from January 2021 to June 2023 (2.5 years). It was later extended to June 2026 without increasing the budget. That deadline is now approaching, but physical progress has reached only 73.09%. The project is being implemented by the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB).
The second draft report states that deficiencies in runway strip width and RESA have been identified as major safety risks. International standards require extending both runway ends up to 240 meters and increasing the strip width to 150 meters.
In addition, at Jessore Airport, partial overlay has created operational safety risks. A full and uniform overlay across the runway is recommended.
