Commerce Minister Khondokar Abdul Muktadir has called for the rapid development of necessary infrastructure to address long-standing cargo handling problems at the country’s airports.
He stressed that temporary and permanent warehouses should be built on an urgent basis instead of allowing projects to be delayed by lengthy administrative procedures.
The minister made the remarks while chairing a progress review meeting at the conference room of the Ministry of Commerce on Monday. The meeting reviewed measures to increase airport cargo handling capacity and construct warehouses to facilitate trade and investment between Bangladesh and the European Union (EU).
Muktadir said the development and management of airport infrastructure falls under the responsibility of the relevant authorities.
“The responsibility of Customs is to ensure the legality, necessary declarations, documentation and duty-related matters of imported and exported goods,” he said, adding that warehouse construction and infrastructure management are not the primary responsibilities of the Customs department.
He said once the required infrastructure is established, Customs will carry out its operations from those facilities.
The minister noted that although the issue does not directly fall under the Ministry of Commerce’s jurisdiction, it is closely linked to trade and export activities.
He said modern airport cargo management is particularly important for expanding trade with the EU and assured that the ministry would provide all necessary support to resolve the issue.
To speed up the process, he proposed forming an inter-ministerial coordination mechanism, with possible representation from the Ministry of Commerce, to improve coordination among stakeholders and ensure faster implementation of decisions.
The minister stressed the need to quickly identify a location and make arrangements for a temporary warehouse. He said if land or space needs to be arranged through rental or other means, decisions must be taken without delay to ensure the facilities become operational as soon as possible.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanom, who also attended the meeting, said collective efforts were underway to transform Biman Bangladesh Airlines into a safer, more modern and efficient organisation.
She said resolving long-standing technical and infrastructure-related challenges was now a priority, while emphasising faster decision-making, simplified procedures, transparency and accountability.
The meeting discussed progress on both temporary and permanent warehouse construction to increase airport cargo handling capacity, speed up goods clearance and reduce business bottlenecks.
Participants reviewed seven potential locations for a temporary warehouse near the airport and four possible sites for a permanent facility.
Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman, Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Fahmida Akhtar, Managing Director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, and senior officials from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank and other relevant ministries attended the meeting.
