Deal with US firm to build 142-storey tower in Dhaka deferred

The signing of a deal on the much-discussed 142-storey ‘iconic tower’ has been pushed back.

Finance ministry officials said the deal would be signed ‘soon’. They noted that the delay occurred since formalities related to the tower could not be completed by Sunday.

The government was scheduled to sign the deal with the US-based firm Kali Pradip Chaudhury Group at 3:45pm on Sunday at the ministry.

Dr Kali Pradip Chaudhury, founder and chairman of the group and of Bangladeshi origin, is in Dhaka to put pen to paper.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, whose dream is to erect the tower, was also scheduled to witness the signing.

But at around 2:30pm, finance ministry officials said the programme had been dropped from the minister’s schedule for the day because of ‘unavoidable reasons’.

However, an official at the ministry told bdnews24.com on condition of anonymity that the signing ceremony was cancelled at the last moment because the law ministry was yet to send its vetting report on the agreement.

He said Chaudhury would leave for the US later in the night.

“He will come again soon for the signing,” he added.

The capital’s development agency Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) has fixed a 60-acre area in Purbachal New City and drawn up plans for the ‘tallest building’ in South Asia.

Chaudhury, hailing from Muhith’s district Sylhet, approached the minister with the plan to build the tower in September last year.

The minister forwarded the proposal to build the tower and other structures surrounding it to the housing and public works ministry, which agreed to allocate the place for the tower at Purbachal.

RAJUK officials said the building would house centres for exhibitions and international conventions.

In his 2016-17 budget speech, Muhith had said the centre’s main auditorium would accommodate 5,000 people, while the main stadium of a sports complex would have a seating capacity for 50,000 people.

“Once implemented, the project will facilitate trade and commerce, create job opportunities and result in economic vibrancy benefiting all,” he said.

He hoped the construction would end in 2018.