Kamrangirchar to have a world-class business district: Taposh
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) plans to build a world-class, modern central business district in the capital's Kamrangirchar to meet the current contextual demand and future needs to help achieve the "Vision 2041".
"We will build a central business district (CBD) at Kamrangirchar," DSCC Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh told BSS in an exclusive interview at his Nagar Bhaban office in Dhaka.
The commercial hub will have to be transformed into a complete "business city" - as a 50-storey skyscraper; a world-class conference centre and a hotel will be established there too, he said.
A draft of the plan titled "Prospects of CBD Development: An overview of Kamrangirchar (Dhaka)" was recently placed at the DSCC.
The economic aspect of Dhaka has been taken into consideration to prepare the draft plan.
As per the economic review (according to the population census report of 2011), Dhaka metropolitan area has a total population of 14.17 million, comprising 33.78% of the total urban population.
Dhaka city accounts for only 8.7% of the total population while its contribution to GDP is about 35% (8th Five Year plan).
To implement the plan, Barrister Taposh said they will have to reclaim the Buriganga river area from illegal encroachment.
"We will evict the illegal encroachers from riverside and re-excavate the Buriganga as per the desire of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and revive its old look. Illegal encroachers will be removed, no matter how powerful they might be," he added.
The mayor said water will flow along two sides of Keraniganj, once the old Buringanga is revived and thus an attractive atmosphere will be created in the area.
Taposh said that once the CBD is implemented it would help achieve the "Vision 2041" -- turning Bangladesh into an upper middle class country by 2031 and a developed nation by 2041, envisioned by the prime minister.
The area will symbolise smart growth and will be livable with economic stability, he continued.
As per the draft plan, a high-rise convention center, condominiums, high-end office building, auditoriums, heritage museum, rooftop cafes or restaurants, art gallery, green walkways, cycle lane and stand, water taxi jetty, water garden, old Dhaka museum, drama theater and amphitheatre will be established.
The proposed plan considered the geographical location, environmental aspect, advantage of various natural resources of the Kamrangirchar area surrounded by the river basin and its very close proximity to existing financial centers as its strength.
The draft plan has taken into consideration illegal encroachment of river bank side, average height (is 5.5 metre) of land of Kamrangirchar area which is under maximum flood flow level as lower groundwater absorption is considered as the weaknesses of the CBD.
According to the draft plan, comparatively high expense for construction, narrow existing road, existence of a few high rise buildings and informal sector, and necessity of resettlement program are noted as threats of the CBD.
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