The real estate business is booming in Corona. However, the price of construction materials is on the rise. As a result, the price of flats is increasing. Traders are also worried about the proposed DAP. Alamgir Shamsul Alamin, President of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB), spoke to Prothom Alo about these issues . He was interviewed by Shubhankar Karmakar .
The country is undergoing a major transformation. We are going to be added to the list of developing countries from least developed countries. In that case, there is a need for change in the real estate sector as well. It is not possible to be a developing country by leaving people on the sidewalk. The housing problem is not just a government problem, it is everyone’s problem. The government and the private sector need to work together to tackle this problem.
Neither the government nor the private sector can solve this problem alone. The government will not let us do business. But we want a private sector business friendly policy from the government. The government agencies need to consider whether the proposals put forward in the new DAP (Detailed Area Plan) of the Capital Development Authority (RAJUK) are realistic.
We have questions about when the DAP formulation committee talks about the infrastructure that will be implemented. Proposed DAP roads, water treatment plants, Why are various conditions being imposed on us without any other infrastructure including waste management? We are told, do housing projects outside the city.
Where to go out of town? Where there is no school, college, healthcare, go there? Why do people come to a megacity? But the picture is the same everywhere in the world. Ordinary people come to the megacity for employment, education and healthcare. If these facilities are provided in other cities, people will not enter Dhaka.
The proposed new DAP will increase the price of land in Dhaka by another point. The price of flats will also increase. In many cases, flat prices can rise by up to 50 percent. Even if people want to buy a flat, it will not be within their purchasing power. The way the price will go up, at first we thought, only the upper class can buy flats.
However, judging and analyzing, we see that the price per square foot in Gulshan will increase by 40-42 thousand rupees in the coming days, which is currently 18-20 thousand rupees. This means that the price of flats will go beyond the reach of the rich. As a result, the market will become smaller. Only the richest of the rich can buy flats. The price of flats will go beyond the reach of the upper middle class, there is no question of buying middle class.
The government has to come up with a master plan to provide affordable housing. The master plan has to be done not only in Dhaka but in the whole country. The amount of our land will not increase. He has to use the land with a lot of planning. The proposed DAP is reducing the height of the building and blocking the maximum use of land. Now if we do not go upstairs (construction of multi-storey buildings), we will have to use agricultural and industrial land for our housing, which will become a threat to food security in the country.
The government has to come forward to provide affordable housing to the people. This is not possible with the private sector. What the private sector can do here is, If the government gives the land and the building is constructed
