The preparation of the field book for the acquisition of land for the fourth international airport at Saidpur has begun.Sources in the Nilphamari deputy commissioner’s office disclosed that some 912 acres of lands will be acquired for the international airport at Saidpur. The upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Saidpur upazila, Md SM Golam Kibriya, told The Independent, “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the upgrading of the Saidpur airport into an international one in 2017. The airports authority announced that 912 acres of land will be acquired in the designated area. In order to implement this order, we have started work at the field level.”

He disclosed that of these lands, 535 acres are personal properties, 60 acres belong to the government, 39 acres belong to the Water Development Board, six acres to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), 14 acres to the Saidpur Cantonment while 13 acres are ‘khas’ land.

The sources disclosed that 317 more acres of personal lands will be acquired from the adjacent Parbotipur upazila in Dinajpur district. The assistant commissioner (land) of Saidpur upazila, Parimol Kumar Sarkar, told this correspondent that the field book is being prepared by considering the various kinds of infrastructures that would be built on these 912 acres of lands.

The manager of Saidpur airport, Md Shahin Ahmed, said the development works at this international airport, the fourth in the country, were proceeding by leaps and bounds. Different kinds of infrastructures, including the terminal and parking zone, are being constructed.

Nilphamari-4 Member of Parliament (MP) Ahsan Adedul said no-one will lose following the acquisition of the lands. He added that the owners of the lands being acquired are very interested in giving up their lands to the airports authority.