The government plans to shift the Secretariat from Abdul Gani Road to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, with the existing complex expected to accommodate other government offices, including those of the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police.
Under the proposed arrangement, no new buildings will be constructed within the current Secretariat premises as the government moves ahead with plans for a new administrative complex estimated to cost Tk 3,500 crore.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman finalised the relocation plan at a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office last Wednesday, attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Department of Architecture.
Sources said the Ministry of Housing and Public Works had already requested the Planning Commission to include the project in the Annual Development Programme (ADP).
An inter-ministerial meeting on the proposal is expected to take place at the commission soon.
Preparation of the Development Project Proposal (DPP) is under way, while the PWD has drawn up a preliminary layout showing the locations of the proposed buildings.
PWD Chief Engineer Md Khalekuzzaman Chowdhury told the media that work was progressing in line with the Prime Minister’s directives.
Tarique Rahman had reviewed the proposed design and made several suggestions, which would be incorporated into subsequent work, he said.
New complex to cover 3.1m square feet
The proposed design envisages 12-storey buildings whose architectural style would complement the National Parliament House, designed by American architect Louis I Kahn.
The new complex would cover about 3.1 million square feet, compared with 1.7 million square feet at the existing Secretariat.
Officials face difficulties working in the current premises because of space constraints, while the concentration of government offices in the area contributes to severe traffic congestion and lost working hours.
A circular road is planned around the new complex. Another road would run behind the Bangladesh-China Friendship International Conference Centre and connect to Mirpur Road via the July Memorial Museum, formerly Ganabhaban.
Officials are also discussing the possibility of constructing an underground road beneath the existing route from Bijoy Sarani through Agargaon towards Mirpur-10.
The upper-level road would serve the new Secretariat, while the lower-level route would provide access towards Mirpur Road. A separate project may be taken up for the underground road.
Once the Secretariat moves, its existing premises on Abdul Gani Road could be used for offices such as those of the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Police, along with other government offices now located in Old Dhaka.
Earlier relocation plans failed
The relocation proposal follows several earlier attempts that did not materialise.
In 2015, the then Awami League government initiated a Tk 2,209-crore project to move the Secretariat to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, with completion targeted for June 2018.
The proposed site covered 32 acres north of Zia Udyan and west of the Bangladesh-China Friendship International Conference Centre, where the annual trade fair is held.
The government had also brought back the master plan for the wider Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area, including the National Parliament House, at a cost of US$400,000.
Under the plan, four nine-storey buildings were to be constructed on 14-storey foundations. The relocation, however, never took place.
No discussions on moving the Secretariat were held during the interim government’s roughly 18-month tenure, sources said.
After the BNP government took office, a separate Tk 650-crore project was proposed to build a 21-storey structure within the existing Secretariat complex.
The proposal was placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on 26 April but was returned without approval.
At that meeting, the Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and the Department of Architecture to examine the feasibility of shifting the Secretariat to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Over the following five months, the ministry held several rounds of discussions with stakeholders to assess possible sites and designs.
Three teams from the Department of Architecture subsequently presented separate designs to the Prime Minister. One was selected at last Wednesday’s meeting, and the PWD was instructed to prepare the project on that basis.
The project’s estimated initial cost stands at Tk 3,500 crore, although the proposal is still being prepared and must proceed through the relevant planning and approval processes.