On 28 December 2019, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the third terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. The construction work of the third terminal will be done by Aviation Dhaka Consortium (ADC), which comprises Mitsubishi Corporation, Fujita Corporation and Samsung C&T Corporation. The estimated cost of the whole project is ৳21300 crore (US$2.3 billion).

The construction work of the new third terminal of the airport will be completed by 2024. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provided financial assistance for a portion of the work in the form of loans. The expansion will include a passenger terminal with a floor area of roughly 226,000 m2 (2,430,000 sq ft); a 5,900 m2 (64,000 sq ft) square VVIP complex; a 41,200 m2 (443,000 sq ft) cargo building; and multi-level car park building with a tunnel. Upon completion of the third terminal, passenger handling capacity of the airport will increase to 20 million from current 8 million per annum. Cargo handling capacity will also increase to 500,000 from 200,000 tonnes annually.