Staff Reporter :
A total of 27 e-gates have been installed in the country’s three international airports.
Of them, 15 e-gates have installed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka. Of them, 12 e-gates have installed in the departure area and three in the arrival area.
Group Captain Muhammed Kamrul Islam confirmed the matter in a statement on Tuesday.
However, six e-gates have been set up at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram and six at Osmani International Airport in Sylhet.
On Monday, immigration was successfully completed through e-gate on a trial basis while arrangements have been made to fully introduce e-gate for passengers on Tuesday at the Dhaka airport.
E-passport holders can cross the e-gate at the end of verification in 18 seconds.
Monirul Islam, additional inspector general of police, and Brig Gen Sadat, project director, observed the immigration process on Tuesday.
The government had plans to set up a total of 50 electronic gates at other airports and land ports under the E-Passport and Automated Border Control Management Project.
The e-gates were inaugurated by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in June last year, but the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) has not been able to use them. As a result, immigration of e-passport holders is now being done manually.
Bangladesh is the first country in South Asia to launch e-gates for e-passports.
The Special Branch of police, which is in charge of immigration, said as there was no link between the e-passport server and the e-gates, the immigration police were carrying out the formalities manually.
When the e-gates become operational, the camera attached to the gate will identify the passenger automatically after analysing information from the e-passport chip.
The e-gates will identify air passengers after scanning the e-passports. The process ensures high security during the verification of travel documents. Global travellers will have a hassle-free experience at the airport.
The government launched the e-passport programme and automated border control (ABC) management in January 2020, aiming at modernising the immigration process and to enhance the acceptability of the Bangladesh passport.
