Another ‘wartime bomb’ found at Shahjalal Airport

Another 250 kg bomb, believed to be dropped during the Liberation War in 1971, was found at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday, reports UNB. 

The airport authorities found the bomb 10 feet under the soil during the construction work of the third terminal of the airport around 8:35 am, said a press release of ISPR.

Later, a bomb disposal unit went to the spot and defused it.

The bomb was removed to a safe place maintaining necessary measures.

However, the authorities concerned suspected that the bomb was dropped during the Liberation War of 1971.

Earlier, on December 9, a 250kg bomb was found at the Airport during the construction work.

Workers saw the cylinder-like bomb while digging for the third terminal.

Construction work on the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) began in late December after months of delay.

The work was originally scheduled to start in April last year and the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) had planned to finish it by April 2021.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the expansion project on October 24, 2017 at a possible cost of Tk 13,610.46 crore. Later, it was revised to around Tk21,399.06 crore. Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) is financing the construction work.

Four companies, including NIPPON KOEI, Oriental Consultant Global, CPG Consultants of Singapore and Design Consultants Limited of Bangladesh, were jointly appointed as consultants for the construction project on June 11, 2017. But the consulting firms could not start work in time. The expenditure for the consulting firm has been estimated at Tk 570.79 crore.