BGMEA President Faruque Hassan on Tuesday said modern equipment should be adopted in line with the demand of time for reaping the immense trade potential of Bangladesh while keeping cargo handling services smooth and efficient.

He said the cargo village has a shortage of ground handling staff and required equipment and machinery.

The BGMEA chief laid emphasis on increasing manpower for ground handling in order to derive full benefits of the improved cargo services -- the installation of new scanners and increased storage capacity.

He urged the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh to reduce scanning charge and also terminal handling charge keeping it international standard.

He also requested CAAB for always keeping cargo handling services fast and smooth.

A delegation of BGMEA headed by President Faruque Hassan visited the cargo village at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Tuesday to observe the current cargo handling situation.

READ: Airport upgradation to underpin trade growth: BGMEA 

The BGMEA team included Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President Miran Ali, Director Asif Ashraf and former Director Ashikur Rahman (Tuhin).

The delegation expressed thanks to the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) over the improvements in air cargo handling services including smooth functioning of all scanning machines at the airport.

Two new explosive detection scanners (EDS) have been installed along two separate machines have been set up for scanning perishable goods. Besides, cargo storage facility has been increased in the airport. Category-wise zones have also been earmarked for storing goods at the airport.

As a result, currently export-import cargoes are not facing any delay due to scanning process.

The improvements were made following repeated calls from BGMEA leaders who earlier held several meetings with the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, CAAB and Biman Bangladesh Airlines and visits to the cargo village where they requested the authorities to improve air cargo handling services at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to facilitate RMG exports.

READ: Bangladesh’s next development phase to depend hugely on industrialisation: BGMEA

CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman assured the BGMEA delegation of taking more steps including increasing storage space and warehouse at the airport to facilitate cargo handling.