Tk 6cr Rajuk building lies vacant for 3yrs

Constructed at an expense of Tk 6 crore, the 10-storey Hatirjheel Car Parking and Management Building of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha has been lying vacant for three years.

The building, connected to the Hatirjheel project, became ready to be leased upon construction by the end of 2020. However, Rajuk could not get the lease granted, and as such, it is being deprived of revenue worth crores of taka.

The first floor of the building has space for Rajuk's Hatirjheel project management office. From the second floor to the eighth floor, there is an arrangement for parking 210 cars.

The ninth and tenth floors have 9,380 square feet of space for a convention hall, alongside 2,139 square feet for coffee shops and 2,139 square feet for restaurants.

The building also has two elevators, alternative stairs, and ramps for car access. Besides, there is 915 sq feet of space for a super shop on the ground floor of the Hatirjheel building.

According to Rajuk sources, they had leased out the building to Bengal Group for Tk 5.01 crore for five years, but they later cancelled the lease, leaving it unused since then.

A seven-member committee has been formed to begin the auction process for leasing out different portions of the building, the sources added.

Several Rajuk officials, wishing anonymity, said it was largely due to the authorities' negligence that it could not lease out the building and thereby incur losses in the last three years.

"We had leased out the parking building once through an open tender, but the company was not interested in it later. So Rajuk has decided to confiscate their security and lease it out again. We have already issued a notice in this regard," said Ashraful Islam, chief town planner and spokesperson for Rajuk.

"After completion of the tender process, we will hand it over to the leaseholder company,' he added.