The government has approved a Tk1,381.45 crore project to minimise losses during natural disasters like earthquake in the four most vulnerable cities – Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Sylhet.
Under the project titled Urban Resilience Project, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakhha (Rajuk) will prepare a risk-prone land use plan and mark land zoning in those cities – through which it is expected to determine which areas are suitable for constructing multi-storey buildings.
The project would enhance the capacity of the relevant government agencies through comprehensive training programmes.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC conference room yesterday.
After the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said since Bangladesh was vulnerable to earthquakes, the preventative measures were necessary to reduce the impact and losses of the natural disasters.
The project would help strengthen the disaster management capacity, especially in Dhaka and Sylhet metropolitans – the most quake-vulnerable cities. Officials said the project was part of the government’s cautionary measures following the devastating Nepal quake in April.
Four public agencies – Planning Commission, Rajuk, Dhaka (North) City Corporation (DNCC) and Department of Disaster Management – will implement the project by June 2020. Out of the total project cost, Tk49.35 crore will come from public coffer and Tk1,332.10 crore as project assistance from the World Bank.
Under the project, emergency operating centres and satellite control rooms would be set up in Dhaka north and Sylhet. Besides, the Fire Service Department would also set up its mobile emergency command and control room, and procure life-saving equipment and emergency response equipment.
Kamal said the Urban Resilience Project, a World Bank-supported umbrella project, aims to strengthen the capacity of the relevant government agencies to efficiently and effectively respond to emergency events in Dhaka and Sylhet cities.
In December 2011, the ERD requested the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery of the World Bank to lend support to Bangladesh for strengthening its capacity to tackle disasters.
The above project was one of the seven projects worth over Tk2,003 crore approved by the Ecnec yesterday.
Of the total seven project cost, Tk652.83 crore will come from the national exchequer, Tk18.14 crore from the related public agencies’ own coffer and Tk1,332.10 crore as project assistance.
Developing level crossings
The meeting also approved two separate projects for rehabilitation and development of level crossing gates of western and eastern zones of Bangladesh Railway in a bid to ensure safe train communication and reduce the risk of accidents.
Bangladesh Railway will implement both the projects by June 2017 as Tk47.84 crore has been allocated against the western zone project and Tk49.34 crore for the eastern zone project.
Under both projects, there will be the appointment of some 851 gatekeepers at 326 level crossings in the western zone of BR, and around 1,038 gatekeepers at 346 level crossings in the eastern zone.
Other projects approved at the Ecnec meeting were: procurement of cold recycling plant and equipments for maintenance of the major roads under Dhaka South City Corporation with Tk51.82 crore, increasing crop intensity at Sylhet region with Tk74.85 crore, rehabilitation of the damaged polders under Cox’s Bazar district with Tk259.76 crore, and protection of both embankment of Sangu and Chadkhali rivers under Chandanaish and Satkania upazilas of Chittagong district with Tk138.01 crore.
