There were thousands of engineering-related challenges during the construction of the third terminal at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA), according to officials from the third terminal project. Despite all these challenges, the dream of constructing the iconic and spectacular three-story third terminal has now become a reality.

The terminal building, with its spectacular aesthetic design, is already prepared for a soft inauguration on October 7.

One hundred and eighty columns, each with a height of 24 meters, support the 2.30 lakh square meters area of the terminal.

Approximately 10 percent of the project's work, including interior tasks, integration, calibration, and functional testing of all equipment, will commence after the soft launch to make the third terminal building functional. This phase is known as Operation Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) and will take about one year.

After that, passengers will be able to use the third terminal by the end of next year, according to CAAB officials.

Regarding the various challenges faced by engineers during the construction of the third terminal, project-related officials told The Daily Star that they were supposed to carry out screw piling during the terminal's construction.

"This screw piling failed in the metro rail project. That's why we didn't take that risk for the construction of the third terminal," said Abdul Malek, Chief Engineer at the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, in an interview with The Daily Star.

"Because if we had tested the screw piling method, it would have cost us Tk 100 crore. That's why we didn't opt for it. We used the conventional piling method of Bangladesh, which saved Tk 700 crore in this project," Malek, who has been involved with the project since 2020, explained.

The biggest challenge of this project was that numerous service-related connections of Desco, BTCL, Titas Gas, and Roads and Highways were linked with the site of the third terminal project.

"We had to conduct 100 meetings with each of the stakeholders to discuss how to relocate those services and carry out our construction," said the project official.

The initial survey conducted for the project didn't account for these extensive utility services.

"We could have completed the third terminal project much earlier if such a complex situation hadn't arisen regarding the utility service lines."

Sources at the CAAB said that the contractors made some changes in the design of the third terminal, which also resulted in cost savings through a process called value engineering.

"In this case, the money saved due to changes in the design will be equally shared between the Bangladesh government and the project contractor," a third terminal project official informed this correspondent.

Asked about some salient features of the third terminal, a top official of the project mentioned that several unique technologies and pieces of equipment were used in this terminal, making it the first of its kind in Bangladesh.

The Baggage Handling System in the third terminal will span a length of seven kilometers. The entire third terminal building will be controlled and monitored from the central control and command station. Every function and management of the building will be operated through a centralized management system, determining which doors need to open and which need to close.

Fourteen moving walkways, a first for any airport in Bangladesh, have also been installed in this terminal. These walkways will be especially beneficial for outbound and inbound passengers, particularly the elderly and children, as they won't need to walk long distances.

The export and import cargo complex built under the third terminal project is fully automated, meaning that the cargo handling for the export and import cargo building will be carried out through an automated system.

Two high-speed taxiways have been constructed under this project, connecting them with the lone runway of Dhaka airport. This will result in faster aircraft landings and take-offs.

The three-storied, colorful car parking building is adorned with a spectacular water lily design and has the capacity to accommodate 1,230 cars, four times higher than the capacity of terminals 1 and 2.