S.A Shofiee, Sylhet :
Direct international air flights will start operating from Sylhet Osmany International Airport in March after the construction of a refuelling station.
About 70 percent of the construction of the refuelling station has already been done, Assistant Project Director Shakil Masud said and hoped that it would take one more month to complete the remaining work.
Osmany Airport Manager Hafiz Uddin said the airport has all the facilities, but international flights could not be operated because of absence of a refuelling station.
Frustration has crept into the people of Sylhet, as operation of direct international flights from the airport has remained suspended for long.
The refuelling station is being constructed at the initiative of Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith.
Shakil Mahmud said refuelling of aircraft is expected to begin in March as about 85 percent of requisite imported equipment reached the station. The remaining 15 percent equipment has reached the Chittagong seaport.
According to the election pledge of the finance minister to ensure all facilities of an international airport in Sylhet, the grand alliance government decided in June 2010 to construct the refuelling station at Osmany Airport.
The project was scheduled to end in June 2013, but the time was extended by one year as the work did not end in time.
After the extension of duration, the project cost increased by Tk 2 crore. The total project cost is now Tk 53.15 crore.
