Real estate sector passing its hard time
Muhammad Ayub Ali :
The real estate sector has been suffering due to high inflation, rising prices of construction materials and political changes, decreasing bookings and sales of small and medium-sized flats, industry people said.
However, small and medium entrepreneurs of the housing sector are facing a financial crisis due to the decline in flat bookings and sales but established real estate business persons are suffering not to build big buildings due to the obstacles of DAP, said the industry leaders.
Md Wahiduzzaman, president of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) said due to the detailed area plan DAP2022-to 2035 condition like floor area ratio, green space provision, compliance with environmental standard not only creating obstacle for RHAB authorities but also residents of the Dhaka cities are facing many challenges for making more than 5 storied building for their residency.
Md Wahiduzzaman, also Managing Director of Japan Garden City Limited, said due to economic stagnation there have many problems including backward linkage but the main problem is DAP obstacle.
Real estate developers say that the construction cost of flats has increased by about 25 percent mainly due to the increase in the prices of raw materials like rods and cement resulting in reduced the number of new projects in the housing sector.
At the same time, there is a stagnation in private house construction.
As a result, the sale of rods and cement, the two main materials of construction, has collapsed.
Liakat Ali Bhuiyan, senior vice president of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) said we are facing a hard time only for the detailed area plan (DAP) which has been taken for livable Dhaka city.
But, in reality, it hinders the creation of residential places in the city.
In addition, the volume of plot or land sales has also decreased significantly, he added.
Rajdnani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) prepared a new Detailed Area Plan, known as DAP to make Dhaka a livable city which was already implemented from August 2023.
But there has been debate and criticism about DAP from the beginning. Entrepreneurs say that the new DAP is discriminatory.
The main problem in the current crisis in the housing industry is this DAP which has become a death trap for the housing sector.