Cox’s Bazar International Airport is expected to be inaugurated in the third week of October as major infrastructure works near completion, although uncertainty remains over airlines’ plans to operate international flights from the tourist destination.

Air Commodore Md Noor-e-Alam, member (Air Traffic Management) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), said preparations are underway targeting the third week of October.

“We are approaching and taking preparations targeting the third week of October for the inauguration,” he said.

He also said Biman Bangladesh Airlines has been asked to prepare for international operations from the airport.

Golam Murtaza Hossain, director of Cox’s Bazar Airport, said a CAAB team, including its chairman, inspected the airport on Wednesday to assess the progress of ongoing works.

According to CAAB documents, construction of the international passenger terminal is 98.97 percent complete, while the runway expansion project has reached 91.65 percent completion.

The runway has been extended from 9,000 feet to 10,700 feet, with 43 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea. CAAB says the extended runway will be capable of handling wide-body aircraft, including Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 747-400.

The 17,956-square-metre international passenger terminal has also been completed. It includes a departure lounge for 450 international passengers, a boarding bridge, lifts, escalators, conveyor belts, check-in counters and immigration facilities.

A 36,300-square-metre apron, capable of accommodating two wide-body aircraft and three Dash-8 aircraft, has also been completed and brought into operation.

However, parking facilities for 35 VIP cars and 90 general cars are still under construction.

The airport currently handles around 28-30 passenger aircraft take-offs and landings a day, according to CAAB.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat earlier said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman would formally inaugurate the airport in October and that Biman Bangladesh Airlines as well as international carriers would operate flights from Cox’s Bazar.

The minister also said several foreign airlines had expressed interest in operating from the airport and that initiatives had been taken to launch direct international services.

Aviation experts and industry stakeholders, however, have raised questions over airline interest and the commercial viability of international operations from Cox’s Bazar.

Aviation expert Kazi Wahidul Alam said airlines should have been consulted when the requirements for developing the airport as an international facility were determined.

He said Biman had previously been asked to launch an international service from Cox’s Bazar but had been reluctant, citing commercial viability concerns.

Meanwhile, CAAB is conducting a separate second-phase consultancy and design project to develop Cox’s Bazar into a full-fledged international airport and aviation hub on 682 acres of land west of the existing runway.

The proposed development includes an international-standard passenger terminal, control tower, cargo complex, convention and business centre, aviation training centre, parallel taxiway, apron and refuelling facilities. The design project has so far achieved 54.35 percent physical progress.