BGMEA urges ministry to fix damaged scanners at Dhaka airport

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism to fix the damaged explosive detection systems (EDS) at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

During a meeting at the Secretariat, the BGMEA team led by its President Faruque Hassan also requested the Civil Aviation Secretary Md Mokammel Hossain for increasing the number of scanners at the airport to speed up the scanning export cargoes.

The BGMEA leaders said RMG exports are being hampered as two EDS machines at Dhaka airport have remained out of service. The airport has another two EDS machines that were installed recently, but cannot begin the operation as those are yet to be validated.

The apparel exporters stressed on regular maintenance of the EDS to keep those running as they said there are frequent technical glitches in the scanning.

They also requested the authorities to ensure enough space at the scanning area so that export cargoes could be scanned systematically and shipped timely. The BGMEA leaders also talked about a spacious parking lot where the export freights would be kept after scanning for air shipment.

The delegation called on bringing RMG goods inside the cargo village or canopy immediately after unloading from aircraft so that the goods do not get damaged in rain.

The BGMEA leaders also asked the civil aviation ministry for storing up the RMG consignments in the cargo shed systematically so that the goods can be found easily and released quickly.

They further urged not to charge demurrage fees for the delay in releasing goods stuck in haphazard stockpiles at the cargo village.

BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President (Finance) Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Vice President Md Nasir Uddin and Biman Bangladesh Airlines Managing Director Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal were also present at the meeting.