Government flats for cleaners in municipalities costing more than those in Dhaka

The government is building 3,040 flats for cleaners in 66 municipalities, but the construction costs are exceeding those in Dhaka.

The estimated cost to build a 495 square feet flat for the cleaners in the municipalities is over Tk 3.75 million, or around Tk 7,600 per square foot.

In Dhaka’s Mirpur and Uttara, members of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh or REHAB are selling flats at Tk 5,500 to Tk 7,500 per square foot, according to the association’s President Shamsul Alamin.

In Badda and some other areas, people can buy flats at cheaper rates, he said.

The government project, with a total estimated cost of over Tk 1.42 billion, is expected to be placed for approval at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council or ECNEC on Tuesday, said Mamun-al-Rashid, a member of the Planning Commission.   

The Local Government and Engineering Department will implement the project with a deadline of December 2024.

The Project Evaluation Committee has met twice over the project. The estimated cost was higher when it had first met by the end of last year. And plan did not have the option of lifts.

“But elderly people would live in the flats. So we advised iincluding the provision of lifts and lowering the cost,” said Mamun.     

In the second meeting in February, the committee recommended placing the project for approval.

According to the proposed project, 144 seven-storey building will be constructed in the municipalities.

Like other government housing projects, Mamun said, the ground floor will be empty.  

An official said they will need to acquire 5.61 acres of land for the project.