Bagerhat: The construction work on the much-awaited Khan Jahan Ali Airport, which remained stalled since 1996, will resume soon involving Tk 544.75 crore.

Deputy Commissioner of Bagerhat Mohammad Jahangir Alam said the work will begin soon after the release of fund as it is one of the priority projects of the prime minister.

The work was stopped after land acquisition and earth filling for the construction of the airport despite having much importance for overall development of the Southwestern region, including speeding up Mongla port activities, raising investment in Mongla Export Processing Zone.

Some 97.55 acres of land were acquired for the airport at Fayla in Rampal Upazila near Khulna-Mongla highway. Bagerhat District administration handed over the land to Civil Aviation Authority in 1996. Later, earth filling work was done spending Tk 110 million (11 crore).

Then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia laid the foundation stone of the airport on 27 January 1996 but there has been no progress in the work since then.

In 2001, when the BNP-Jamaat government came to power the work earth filling began again which was later stopped for lack of fund allocation.

After visiting the site of the proposed airport, then Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Lt Col Faruq Khan engaged experts of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology to prepare the pre-feasibility study report on the project in 2012.

Later, the KUET expert team submitted the report to the Civil Aviation Authority highlighting the importance of the airport and with recommendation for constructing the airport in two phases.  Later, the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry sent their proposal to the Prime Minister's Office.

Later, the prime minister ordered construction of the bridge on priority basis.

Sources at the district administration said 150 hectares of additional land will be acquired for the project.

‘We're expecting that the work will begin in July and will be completed by the next three years,’ said Director (Planning and Training) of Civil Aviation Authority M Ziaul Kabir.