If a flood barrier is constructed simultaneously with development of roads and bridges to ease connectivity to East Dhaka, then it would not only ease traffic congestion in the city but would also turn the current city centre into a tradable services hubIn the report, Prof Venables highlighted four simulated scenarios – business as usual prior to 2035, the installation of a flood barrier, flood barrier plus extra transport, and flood barrier plus extra transport and provision amenities for East Dhaka as well as cost reduction of tradable services in East Dhaka. According to the simulations, construction of a flood barrier in East Dhaka would have a direct and substantial impact on the economy, even without further simultaneous strategies. However, in this case it would only lead to informal residential and manufacturing development. On the other hand, if a flood barrier is constructed simultaneously with development of roads and bridges to ease connectivity to East Dhaka, then it would not only ease traffic congestion in the city but would also turn the current city centre into a tradable services hub. Furthermore, the simulations illustrated that encouraging tradable services to operate in East Dhaka in addition to the flood barrier and transport system would form a new tradable services hub, with greater overall positive impact on the economy. The report further said that tradable services may be encouraged to operate out of East Dhaka in two ways – either by coordinating development or by reducing costs of business.Session 2: From plan to actionIn the second session, chaired by Chief Economist of World Bank for South Asia Martin Rama, a panel comprised by Dean of Pudong (East Shanghai) Planning and Design Institute Zhu Ruolin, Member (Planning) of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha Ziaul Hasan, Major General Abu Syeed Md Masud of Special Works Organisation of the Bangladesh Army and President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abul Kasem Khan discussed the question “Can Dhaka be transformed?” During the discussion, Zhu Ruolin gave a presentation on how Shanghai city tackled the challenges of urbanisation. He asked to divide Dhaka city into three categories: bonded area, processing area and living area. “In 1980, Shanghai had a population of six million. To cross between West and East Shanghai, you had to put your bicycle on a ferry to cross the river, which divided the city in half. Like East Dhaka today, Pudong, or East Shanghai was underdeveloped, of mostly farmland,” Zhu Ruolin said. “Today, with a population 24 million, Shanghai has the longest subway system in the world. The East and West have become one city; connected with over 20 bridges and tunnels between them,” he added.Session 3: The way forwardIn the concluding session, Economic Relation Division Secretary Kazi Shafiqul Azam and World Bank’s Country Director Qimiao Fan further stressed the need to urbanise the eastern part of Dhaka, while coordinating with all stakeholders and parties involved. “The present Dhaka must be developed, as we want to be a middle-income country by 2021 and it mostly depends on Dhaka’s urbanisation. We are working very closely in with developing partners and other stakeholders in this regard, particularly prioritising on infrastructure development,” said Kazi Shafiqul Azam. Meanwhile, Qimiao Fan said: “If you look at the East Dhaka, you will find it still remains largely rural. If properly managed, the development potential of East Dhaka is massive. For this, the East Dhaka needs to be designed and built sustainably. “This will require careful planning, proper implementation, and close coordination. It will require the government ministries and agencies, private sectors, and the most brilliant and creative minds from Bangladesh and abroad to work together.”
Speaking at the international conference on “Development Options for Dhaka Towards 2035,” experts have said that the development of the eastern part of the Dhaka would lead to large scale gains based on the city’s performance, considering it is planned and implemented properly.
The conference, organised by the World Bank, was held at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Wednesday.
Across three sessions, various experts from national and foreign universities as well as research and policymaking organisations presented their recommendations at the conference, with the importance of the eastern part of Dhaka swiftly becoming apparent.
According to the speakers, while proper planning and implementation of development projects in East Dhaka would turn it into a vibrant hub of activity, unplanned and rapid urbanisation would only worsen traffic congestion and expose more people to risk from flooding, earthquakes and other disasters.Session 1: The technical foundationsIn the first session, Professor Anthony Venables from the University of Oxford presented a report titled “Land reclamation and urban change: a computable equilibrium model applied to Dhaka,” prepared in collaboration with Julia Bird, Lino Ferreira and Dewi Spijkerman.
