Fire-ravaged facility at Shahjalal Airport insured for just Tk 20 lakh despite housing goods worth thousands of crores; exporters report Tk 12,000 crore losses whilst most imported goods lack local coverage.

Cargo Village at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, recently destroyed by a devastating fire, had insurance coverage of merely Tk 20 lakh (L), officials have confirmed. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, which owns and operates the facility, will receive a maximum claim of just Tk 20 lakh despite the extensive damage.

The revelation has sparked concerns as exporters estimate losses of around Tk 12,000 crore from the blaze that broke out on 18 October. Mohammad Hatem, president of the Exporters Association of Bangladesh, stated that the total extent of damage remains difficult to determine accurately.

S M Shah Alam, General Manager of Sadharan Bima Corporation, the country's only state-owned non-life insurer, explained that only a small portion of the CAAB-operated warehouse inside the Cargo Village had insurance coverage. "It is difficult to say definitively whether the entire Cargo Village was insured," he told media.