Shipping of garment products through Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport has slowed down again as the Explosive Detection Systems (EDSs) at the airport remained mostly out of order for almost three weeks.
One EDS has been out of order since May. The other became partially operational last night after going out of order on September 24.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. Faruque Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said cargo scanning was solely done by sniffer dogs when the two EDSs remain defunct.
The dogs can scan up to 110 tonnes of goods in a day while the two EDSs used to scan some 800 tonnes, he said.
The civil aviation ministry has promised exporters that two new EDSs would be added to the airport on October 14.
The BGMEA in a statement said export of garment products was being affected since the systems went down.
The BGMEA leaders yesterday met Mokammel Hossain, secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and requested that EDSs are kept operational at all times.
Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan, executive director at the HSIA, said the EDSs were being fixed.
He also called for increasing the number of scanners to speed up the process of scanning export cargoes, according to a statement from the BGMEA.
The BGMEA leaders yesterday requested the authorities to ensure enough space at the scanning area so that cargoes could be scanned in an orderly manner and shipped timely.
The current arrangement lacks order and is time-consuming, they added.
