Menzies eyes third terminal ground handling

British aviation services company Menzies Aviation yesterday said it would invest more than $12 million in its first year and create over 1,000 direct jobs in Bangladesh if it secures the ground-handling licence for the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

“We believe, with our business plan, we will in the first year of our operations create over a thousand well-paid jobs that are directly employed by Menzies,” said John Henderson, senior vice-president for operations, Middle East and Asia, at a media briefing at Crowne Plaza Dhaka Gulshan in the capital.

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Earlier this year, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) announced that it wanted to hire a second ground-handling operator, alongside Biman Bangladesh Airlines, for the third terminal to promote competition and improve services.

Several foreign players, including Japanese firm Sub Working Group, have already shown interest in the job. Last month, the civil aviation ministry said it was exploring possible cooperation with AirAsia in ground handling and airport management.

Charles Wyley, executive vice-president for Middle East, Africa and Asia at Menzies Aviation, said the expression-of-interest process had been completed and the consortium had issued a request for proposals to qualified companies.

Menzies understands that four companies have qualified and that one or possibly two may eventually be referred to CAAB for licensing, he said. The company has also met civil aviation authorities and the aviation minister over its proposed Bangladesh operations.

Asked about its chances against other international bidders, Menzies executives declined to discuss competitors’ pricing, saying the bids were confidential.

Henderson said Menzies plans to establish a training academy at the airport to train Bangladeshis to international standards, preparing them for jobs at Dhaka airport as well as opportunities across its network of 350 airports in 65 countries.

Menzies said its international standard is to deliver the first bag from a wide-body aircraft within 10 to 15 minutes and the last within 40 minutes.

Asked whether another ground handler could reduce airfares, Wyley said ground handling accounts for only a small part of an airline’s operating costs.

“The cost of turning an aircraft is less than the price of one business-class seat,” he said, adding that fuel and other airline operating expenses account for far higher costs.

ADC, a consortium of Mitsubishi Corporation, Fujita Corporation and Samsung C&T Corporation, constructed the terminal at a cost of Tk 21,300 crore, mostly funded by loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Bangladesh contributed Tk 5,000 crore.

The ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made a soft inauguration in early October 2023, nearly four years after construction of the project began. Full operations, which were originally scheduled for 2024, have yet to commence.

The government is negotiating with a Japanese consortium comprising Japan Airport Terminal Company, Sumitomo Corporation, Sojitz and Narita International Airport Corporation on the mandatory operation and maintenance agreement.

Once fully operational, Dhaka airport’s annual passenger-handling capacity will double to 24 million, while cargo capacity will also expand significantly. Currently, Biman handles ground services for its own flights and all 41 international airlines operating from HSIA.

Menzies also sees opportunities in Bangladesh’s air cargo sector, particularly because of exports such as garments.

Menzies began in Scotland in 1833 and entered the aviation business in the 1990s. It provides ground handling, cargo, aircraft fuelling and passenger services and currently employs more than 65,000 people worldwide.