The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk) has said plot owners of the capital's Purbachal New Town Project would not be affected by the recent discovery of a gas reserve in the area.
The city development authority also said some 24 plot owners in Sector 20, where the gas field had been discovered, have already been allotted alternative plots of the same size in other parts of the project.
On June 21, Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Ltd (Bapex) discovered a new gas reserve at the Purbasha area in
Rupganj, where it initially estimated the reserve to contain 50 billion cubic feet of gas, adding some 10-15 million cubic feet of gas per day to the National Grid.
The Purbasha field is located near the now-defunct Kamta gas field in Kaliganj upazila under Gazipur.
Following the discovery, Rajuk allocated three acres of land from Sector 20, which included 24 residential plots, two playgrounds and three plots, to Bapex to facilitate the drilling work at the reserve.
Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune, Purbachal New Town Project Director Md Anwar Hossain said: “The new gas field discovery will not affect the plot
owners. We have already handed over a significant area to Bapex some two years ago to develop the gas field.
Alternative plots had also been handed over to the land owners in Sector 20 long ago.”
When asked about Bapex's estimation that more land might be needed for the gas field, the Rajuk high-up said Bapex would not be allotted further land from the Purbachal project and added: “Roads and other infrastructure have already been built in the areas around the gas field. So it is not possible for us to provide any more land from the residential project.”
The 24,697-plot Purbachal housing project is situated between the Balu River and the Sitalakhya River in Rupgonj upazila of Narayanganj and Kaliganj upazila of Gazipur.
