Kalapara will soon have an airport

Molasses being made from goal tree in Kalapara.

Patuakhali: A high-level delegation of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism visited Chakamiya Union of Kalapara Upazila of Patuakhali at 'potential site for construction of airport'. On Saturday at 11:30 am Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and Director (Administration) of the Civil Aviation Authority and members of the delegation led by Zahirul Islam visited the possible site for the construction of the airport.

According to upazila administration sources, Nishanbaria and Gamurbunia of Chakamiya Union of Kalapara Upazila and Tarikata and North Tiakhali Mouja of Amtali Upazila have been initially identified for construction of 3 thousand acres of land for the airport. Here are 6 km long and 2 km length. A plan has been taken to construct a wide runway.

Kalapara UNO Md. Jahangir Hossain said that there is a lot of private land of the government in the area that has been initially identified for the construction of the airport. Apart from this, some privately owned land may have to be acquired. Apart from that, the area is also very good for airport runways. On the other hand, the place falls between Amtali and Kalapara upazilas. For these reasons, the delegation felt that the site was considered suitable in all respects for an airport.

Kuakata Hotel-Motel Owners Association general secretary Motaleb Sharif said, 'Cox's Bazar has the opportunity to travel by air. But the facility to quickly reach Kuakata, the country's second largest beach, has not yet been developed by air. Due to which many domestic and foreign tourists are turning away from Kuakata. If the airport is built in Kalapara, that frustration will be overcome. We tourism dependent businessmen are very happy with such an initiative.

Zahirul Haque, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said, 'Our Ministry has already sent a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority seeking information on the location of the airport construction. After receiving the letter, we started working. On behalf of the two organizations, we have now come to see the possible site on the ground.' - Gofran Biswas Palash