The Cabinet has given in-principle approval to relocate the Bangladesh Secretariat to the former trade fair ground in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, with government offices expected to begin operating at the new site in 2029.
The approval was given at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Sunday.
According to the Cabinet Division, the new Secretariat complex will be built on 31.58 acres of land, featuring fourteen 12-storey buildings with three basement levels each. The complex will provide around 33.16 lakh square feet of office space.
The project will include parking facilities for 3,800 vehicles, with 200 spaces above ground and the rest underground. Other facilities will include a mosque, two multipurpose halls with a capacity of 350 people each, a cafeteria and a post office. Around 30% of the site will be reserved for greenery and water bodies.
The existing Secretariat occupies 17.57 acres and comprises 13 buildings, eight of which were built before independence, the Cabinet Division said. Buildings 1, 2, 3 and 8 were constructed between 1937 and 1939, while Building 5 was built in 1947.
The buildings were not designed to withstand earthquakes. As Dhaka lies in an earthquake-prone zone, housing key government ministries and divisions in these structures poses a safety risk, according to the Cabinet Division.
The existing complex also lacks adequate office space and toilet facilities for officials and employees. The number of users exceeds the buildings' capacity, making it difficult to maintain a healthy working environment.
The current Secretariat has around 18. 76 lakh square feet of office space. However, more than one million additional square feet is needed to meet the growing demands of ministries and accommodate those operating outside the complex.
The Cabinet Division said the initiative to build the new Secretariat at the former trade fair ground was taken following a decision by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), in line with the master plan prepared by architect Louis I Kahn.
The Department of Architecture has already prepared a conceptual design for the proposed complex.
The Cabinet's in-principle approval clears the way for the proposed construction and relocation.