The maritime runway will promote Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh’s major tourist attraction, to become an international metropolis from a resort town, according to Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming.
Once completed, larger aircraft will be able to take off and land on the nearly 11,000-feet-long runway, which will boost the development of the Cox’s Bazar and neighbouring regions, he said on Sunday.
The envoy made the remarks on Sunday at the inauguration ceremony for the extension of the runway at Cox’s Bazar airport project.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction works from her official residence Ganobhaban through video-conferencing.
The Chinese ambassador said this project marks a new level of cooperation in the transport infrastructure development sector between China and Bangladesh, and it marks a milestone for Cox’s Bazar Airport on its way to becoming an international airport.
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The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) inked the deal for the project with the Chinese joint venture of Changjiang Yichang Waterway Engineering Bureau (CYWEB) and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) on February 9, 2021. The estimated cost of the project is Tk1,568.86 crore.
The Chinese ambassador said: “With its sound technical capacity and extensive experiences, I believe that CCECC and CYWEB will deliver a satisfactory result to the Bangladeshi government and people by completing the project on time and with high quality.
“At the same time, CCECC and CYWEB will surely contribute to the local people's livelihood by granting employment opportunities to the local workforces.”
Bangladesh is the first country in South Asia to join the Belt and Road Initiative, known as “BRI”, next to the decisive leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The BRI has carried out comprehensive and successful cooperation particularly in the field of infrastructure development, he added.
