Purbachal New Town 'to be ready by 2018'

The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha is planning to complete the development works of Purbachal New Town project by the end of next year.

Around 80 percent of the land development work has been completed. Possession of some 13,000 plots out of the total 25,016 has been handed over to allottees, said Rajuk officials.

“We have already spent around Tk 2,700 crore to step up the implementation of the project,” ASM Raihanul Ferdous, chief engineer of Rajuk, told The Daily Star.

However, the city planner is conducting feasibility studies on the project's water treatment and waste management plants.

It is implementing the Tk 7,700 crore project on around 6,000 acres of land to create residential accommodation for around 1.5 million people.

The Rajuk had conducted a feasibility study on the project around 26 years ago. In 1992, it started acquiring land for the project and the development work began in 2007.

Purbachal New Town is located between the Shitalakhya and the Balu rivers in Rupganj of Narayanganj and Kaliganj of Gazipur.

The project area is divided into 30 sectors, with 21.66 percent for commercial, educational and sporting institutions, 25.90 percent for road, island and footpath and 13.70 percent for lakes, parks and forest, the chief engineer said.

Ujjwal Mallick, additional director of the project, blamed the slow implementation of the project on sluggish acquisition of land. According to him, it took Rajuk about 16 years to do the job.

A completely-built road, in Purbachal New Town project. Plot owners' wait to move into their land could end next year as about 80 percent of the development work has been done. The photos were taken recently. Photo: Zahid I Khan

“We have already installed overhead electricity cables in the project area to supply power to 13,000 plots,” he said.

About supply of gas, Raihan said an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) bank would be set up in each of the 30 sectors to supply bottled LPG to households.  

Development of lakes, canals, internal road, drains and installation of street lamps were underway, the Rajuk official added.

Bangladesh Navy has been tasked with the construction of 62 bridges in the project area. Of them, 30 have already been built and two are under construction.

The project area is linked to the capital by a 300-feet expressway which is connected to the Airport Road via Pragati Sarani intersection.

Ujjwal said many businesses and government offices, like the headquarters of Fire Service and Civil Defence, would be relocated to Purbachal.

Two police lines and four police stations will be set up at some strategic points in the town to maintain law and order.

The government has planned to build 142-storey Iconic Tower on 75 acres of land in Purbachal. The building will have an international convention centre and a modern sports complex, among other facilities.

The Rajuk official said once the project is completed, it would facilitate trade and commerce and create jobs.

Around 144 acres of land have been earmarked by Rajuk for reserved forest. Only 38 percent space of the total project area would be used for housing purpose, he told this correspondent.

Besides, 62,000 flats will be built on 90 acres of land for low income people.