Bangladesh: Dhaka airport fire set to deal a heavy blow to the textile industry

The cost of the damage caused by Saturday’s fire at the main airport in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, could exceed $1 billion, according to an initial estimate on Sunday from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

“The entire imports area has been reduced to ashes,” said Faisal Samade, a director at BGMEA, describing “a scene of devastation.” “We fear that losses could well exceed $1 billion,” he added, noting that around 200 to 250 companies in the country, the world’s second-largest textile producer, export their products by air every day.

The cause of the fire is not yet known; it broke out in the cargo terminal of Dhaka’s main international airport, where fabrics, clothing accessories, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals are stored.

Four people with minor injuries were taken to hospital, according to Moinul Ahsan, a senior official at the Bangladesh Department of Health.

Earlier in the day, the country’s tax authorities said they had begun assessing the damage, while the government announced the opening of an investigation. “We have started our assessment of the damage,” Moshiur Rahman, head of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), told AFP.

Flights resumed on Saturday evening, the airport’s director general, S M Ragib Samad, told AFP.

On Sunday, smoke was still rising from the rubble. “The fire spread everywhere; I don’t know if a single cargo shipment could be saved,” said an exhausted firefighter, whose uniform was greyish and whose hands were blackened.

“We were due to deliver goods to our customers today, and I suppose everything has been reduced to ashes,” a shopkeeper, Anand Kumar Ghosh, told AFP.

In a statement, the government said it was aware of growing public concern following a series of recent fires, notably in the Chittagong industrial free zone and at a chemical and textile factory in Dhaka on Tuesday, where 16 people died.

The security services are investigating all incidents “thoroughly,” and “any credible evidence of sabotage or arson will be followed by a swift and resolute response,” it added.

“No criminal or provocative act will be tolerated to disrupt public life or the political process,” it warned.

Bangladesh is the third-largest supplier of clothing to the US ($7.5 billion in 2024) and the second-largest to the European Union (€4.3 billion). This position has been achieved thanks to its low wages, while its main competitor, China, raised its minimum wage in the early 2010s.

However, this situation makes Bangladesh highly dependent on its textile sector, which accounts for 80% of its exports and 20% of its GDP, and provides around four million direct jobs.