As supply of construction materials has been disrupted in political unrest, the business of real estate backward linkage industry suffers heavy losses, claimed the sector people.
Lack of raw materials supply, on the other hand, has almost halted the construction works, which leads the real estate sector count loss of astronomical sums.
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) organised a press conference in Dhaka yesterday to present the situation, where a number of construction sector people were also present.
In this context, they urged the political parties to sit in discussion and put an end to the ongoing crisis as it is destroying economy.
“The real estate sector has suffered losses of Tk1,656 crore in last 46 days of blockade and hartals,” said REHAB president Alamgir Shamsul Alamin.
He said they were failing to complete construction works, which delayed handover of flats to the buyers.
“Such delays can also lead to many problems like legal complexity,” said Alamgir.
Besides, the businessmen could not start new projects as their investments had got stuck in the delayed projects, he added.
He vented out his anger at the situation, saying: “We are not responsible for the situation, so why should we bear the losses? The political parties do not have rights to play game with the people’s money.”
He said the real estate owners have taken loans of Tk24,000 crore and many of them are now in the risk of being defaulter due to the political situation.
“In this context, we urge the government and central bank to provide re-scheduling facility for next two years waiving interest,” said Alamgir.
REHAB president urged the government to reinstate single-digit loan for the low and middle-income people to buy flats.
Abu Bakar Siddique, General Secretary of Bangladesh Re-Rolling Mills Association said 200 mills out of 400 have stopped production as they cannot sell goods.
The production time has been reduced to half in the remaining 200 mills, he said adding that they cannot import raw materials for production due to the unrest.
Siddique said they had to slash jobs of a number of workers with some payments due to their inability to bear expenses during these dull days of business.
Mustafa Kamal Mohiuddin, president of Bangladesh Land Developers Association (BLDA), said about Tk5,000 crore investment has got stranded in the sector due to the political turmoil.
The sector has suffered losses of Tk25,000 crore in last 46 days of blockade and hartals, he said, adding that it would take at least two years to recover if the unrest stopped right now.
Bangladesh Paint Manufacturers Association president Abdur Rahman urged the political parties to save from incurring losses.
“Please, do not use us as a tool to achieve your political gain, save us from the losses.”