AI, new warehouses set to reshape airport cargo handling
Dhaka: The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and the Ministry of Commerce have agreed to fast-track the construction of warehouses at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to ease persistent cargo handling problems, during an inter-ministerial meeting on August 17.
The meeting, held at the conference room of Ministry of Commerce, was chaired by Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, with Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam attending as a special guest, according to a release from the MoCAT ministry.
MoCAT Minister Khanam said the country aims to shift from following technological trends to leading them, referring to plans for introducing artificial intelligence in cargo operations. She added that deploying advanced technology to speed up cargo clearance and improve service quality would bring a new dimension to the aviation sector.
She urged relevant agencies to work urgently and collaboratively to build both permanent and temporary warehouses at the airport.
Commerce Minister Muktadir said airport infrastructure development falls under other authorities, while Customs is responsible for verifying the legality of imported and exported goods, along with related documentation, duties, and taxes. He noted that warehouse construction and infrastructure management do not fall under Customs' core mandate.
He said once the required infrastructure is in place, Customs would conduct its operations there, making it essential to resolve infrastructural bottlenecks quickly to boost cargo handling capacity.
Although the matter does not directly concern the Ministry of Commerce, Muktadir said it is closely tied to the country's trade and export performance. He noted that modernizing cargo management at the airport is especially important for expanding trade with the European Union and pledged the ministry's cooperation in resolving the issue.
Participants discussed seven potential sites for a temporary warehouse and four potential sites for a permanent warehouse to address cargo congestion at the airport.
The meeting further covered plans for cold-storage facilities, ground-handling guidelines to speed up the import and export of medicines, timely delivery of cargo notices to importers, and the development of an AI-based system to help identify and retrieve imported goods.
During the meeting, Minister Khanam also highlighted the ongoing efforts to turn the national carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, into a safer, more modern, and more efficient airline, adding that resolving long-standing technical and infrastructural issues is now a priority.
She called for simplifying procedures while maintaining transparency and accountability and for prompt implementation of decisions.
Commerce Ministry Secretary Md. Ataur Rahman and Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Secretary Fahmida Akhter, Managing Director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), and senior officials from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank, and relevant ministries were also present, among others, at the meeting.
