Govt to build 2,000 flats for employees

The government is going to build around 2,000 flats of different sizes in the capital's Azimpur, Zigatola and Motijheel for increasing accommodation facilities for the government employees.

At present only 8 percent of government employees enjoy the facility in Dhaka city.

Yesterday, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved three projects for constructing the flats at a cost of Tk 1,551 crore which will be completed by 2020.

According to the planning ministry proposal, 17 buildings with 20-storey each will be constructed at Azimpur at a cost of Tk 990 crore. There will be 684 flats in nine buildings and 608 flats in eight buildings.

In addition, there are 392 flats in 24 buildings on 13.62 acres of land in Azimpur government colony area. The planning ministry proposal said the buildings are old and dilapidated; therefore, the government has a plan to dismantle the buildings and construct 23 buildings with 20-storey each.

The ministry said, in the first phase, the construction of six buildings is going on and will be completed by June next year. The number of flats will be 1,748 once the 23 buildings are constructed, said a planning ministry official. 

Under another project approved yesterday, six buildings having 13-storey each will be constructed at Zigatola at a cost of Tk 304 crore, containing 288 flats.

In Motijheel, five 20-storey buildings will be built at a cost of Tk 257 crore. The buildings will contain 380 flats altogether. 

According to the planning ministry proposal, there are 13,052 flats available in Dhaka city for 1,48,915 government employees. The government plans to increase the number of flats to 18,276.

Yesterday, Ecnec approved 14 projects including these three at a cost of Tk 10,099 crore.