IRD forms 5-member committee to assess damage from Dhaka airport fire

A finance ministry division will swiftly finalise the damage evaluation for government submission

The interim government has formed a five-strong committee to assess the extent of damage caused by the fire at the Cargo Village of Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

In a media statement issued on Saturday night, the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the finance ministry said the committee will submit its report to the government after determining the overall losses from the incident as quickly as possible.

The committee is headed by IRD Joint Secretary Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman Patwary, with Deputy Secretary Pankaj Barua serving as member secretary.

Other members are Md Roich Uddin Khan and Md Tarek Hasan, both first secretaries of the National Board of Revenue and Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Customs House Mohammad Kamrul Hasan.

The IRD statement added that the committee will prepare a detailed report and submit it to the government “as soon as possible”.

The NBR has also taken special measures to ensure the continuation of import-export activities at Dhaka Custom House despite the incident.

The fire broke out at Cargo Village around 2:15pm Saturday and was contained by 9:15pm, grounding flights at the country’s main airport.