The initiative to move the Secretariat from Abdul Gani Road in the capital to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar has gathered pace on the instructions of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. A project has been drawn up for the purpose. The proposal provides for a new complex on the former international trade fair ground. There is also a plan to move the lower courts of Old Dhaka to the present Secretariat compound. The new Secretariat project has not yet been approved. The government wants to complete all the procedures and open work on the project in December.
Md Khalekuzzaman Chowdhury, chief engineer of the Public Works Department, said the prime minister has given instructions on moving the Secretariat, and work on implementing the project is being taken forward quickly in line with them. The prime minister has already seen the project’s design and given various suggestions on it. The work is going ahead with those taken into account, he said.
People concerned said the proposed cost of the relocation project has been put at Tk 3,409 crore 44 lakh 29 thousand. The implementation period runs from November this year to December 2029. The Public Works Department has prepared a layout fixing the position of the buildings. The Ministry of Housing and Public Works has moved to have the project included in the list of unapproved new projects in the annual development programme (ADP) for the 2026-27 financial year. The department has submitted the necessary information to the ministry.
According to officials concerned, the plan is to place the project before Ecnec; if it is approved, work will be opened within this year.
They said a target of starting work in December has been mentioned. If all goes well, the plan is to lay the foundation stone in December. There is an instruction that the prime minister himself will open it, and preparations are being made accordingly. The aim is to move several ministries within three years in the first phase, but the whole construction may take four to five years.
Sources at the public works ministry said work has begun on preparing the development project proposal (DPP). The prime minister wants work to start in December, but they also spoke of uncertainty over whether preparations can be completed by then.
People concerned at the Department of Architecture said they have presented three alternative designs to the prime minister. After the project is approved, construction is to be carried out through the Public Works Department.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report