A small entrepreneur in Kamrangichar area in Dhaka has made cost effective pavement tiles for the first time in Bangladesh by recycling alarmingly increased plastic waste, one of the factors of environmental degradation.
"I have already produced 1000 pieces of tiles by recycling plastic waste ... I am very optimistic that this tiles will be commercially viable as it is cost effective and durable compare to the ceramic tiles," Nazir Hossain, who turned the plastic waste into assets, told BSS today.
The plastic tile was formally launched today by displaying at the "Poribesh Mela (environment fair) 2023" marking today World Environment Day under the theme of solution to plastic pollution".
This innovation seems to give a new idea to the country waste experts those are desperately looking for durable solution to manage plastic waste while nearly 650 tons of plastic waste have been collected daily only in Dhaka.
Nazir, the owner of Hossain engineering workshop in Kamrangichar area in the capital, thanked a local non-government organization named Resource Integration Center (RIC) that facilitated him to turn his innovation into reality.
Source: BSS
The real estate business in Bangladesh in threat due to the sudden increase in raw material prices amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, strain on foreign currency reserves, and the latest Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for Dhaka city has caused real estate sales to plunge to a five-year low, according to industry insiders.
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) leaders demanded that maximum companies have cut the number of new projects.
REHAB Vice President Kamal Mahmud said “maximum companies in Mirpur and Jatrabari areas did not get any new project.”
“The price of flats will go up 30-40 per cent in the next year due to the implementation of new DAP and the price hike of construction raw materials,” he added.
REHAB president Alamgir Shamsul Alamin said, "We realtors are trying to compromise with buyers who booked apartments before the rise in raw material costs, which increased abnormally to become a burden for both asset buyers and developers."
Local developers are now being cautious in taking up new projects considering the current adversities.
"Under the current circumstances, there is no scope for realtors to be over-ambitious," Alamin said. "So, realtors should move very carefully and focus on completing their ongoing projects."
Assurance Developments Ltd chief executive officer Md Arifur Rahman said the construction costs have increased by Tk 1,500 to Tk 12,000 per square foot depending on the size and locations of the properties being developed in Dhaka city.
"So, realtors are following a go-slow business policy to tackle the situation," he added., adding that, so, the buyers are losing the buying capacity.
Building Technology & Ideas Ltd (bti) managing director FR Khan said as a result, flat prices have gone up by Tk 10 lakh to Tk 50 lakh in the past six months.
According to Khan, the pressure of higher global inflation and Russia-Ukraine war have directly affected the local real estate sector and he apprehends the demand for flats may fall owing to volatility in the global economy.
Overall, the real estate sector is not in a comfortable stage at the moment as the price of land is increasing, he said.
REHAB officials said that the new DAP has decreased the building size by 40% to 50% due to Floor Area Ratio (FAR) reduction, which is why realtors have increased the prices of apartments. Because of this, buyers are struggling to buy apartments.
Registration directorate Assistant Inspector General Sheikh Md Anwarul Haque said that the number of sales contracts of apartments, plots, commercial spaces, and commercial plots that have been registered till September this year, is not even half of that of the same period even during the Covid crisis. Apartments, in particular, are the least sold this year, he added.
According to REHAB, there are 35 lakh workers in the housing sector and over 260 backward linkage sectors that are suffering along with the developers.
REHAB Vice President Engineer Mohd Shohel Rana demanded that all real estate business organizations, employees and workers are facing threat due to decreasing the number of sale and new constructions.
Especially, the DAP implementation has created a big threat for real estate business, insiders claimed.
CHATTOGRAM, June 3: The Banshkhali power plant – SS Power I Limited – in Chattogram is expected to start producing electricity by the end of 2022.
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming visited the under-construction thermal plant Thursday in coastal upazila Banshkhali.
Officials of the plant, developed as a joint venture with local partner S Alam Group, said one of the units of the under-construction 1320MW coal-fired power plant will be commissioned by December this year.
The Chinese ambassador said many such power plants are being built with the help of Chinese people and Chinese teams: “And this is the second (power plant) that is going to be completed very soon (in Bangladesh).”
“I’ve been to Payra, which is exactly the same size. And I’m glad that this one (Banshkhali power plant) is almost ready. Payra power plant, as far as I know, helped Bangladesh realise its 100 percent electrification target,” Ambassador Li said.
“I’m sure that this one (Banshkhali) will enhance the 100 percent electrification of this country,” he added.
RAJSHAHI, June 2: The under-constructed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-tech Park has started becoming an employment hub for youths creating an enthusiasm among the young generation.
At present, around 400 youths are engaged in various works, including software development, site maintenance of famous companies and file works as per demand from abroad, generating working atmospheres in the park.
Afroza Arbi Tusi, who is working in Fleet Bangladesh, said she has got chances of developing her career living in Rajshahi with her family members.
“I was very much anxious about developing my career during university life and always thought about going to Dhaka for career development,” she said while talking to this correspondent here on Wednesday.
She added that the Bangabandhu Hi-tech Park has become a blessing for her as it has created scopes of building careers for many youths interested in the IT sector.
‘Tech Rajshahi’ has been working to deliver services related to mobile games and other software.
Mahfuzur Rahman, Chief Executive of the organization, said they have 142 workers and 28 of them are working in the hi-tech park.
He said the location of the park along with its modern facilities has enhanced the brand value of his institution.
Chief Executive Officer of ‘MD Info’ Monzurul Murshed said they have got spaces in Joy Silicon Tower and Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building.
They have around 1,000 workers and 150 of them are working in the office as ninety-five percent of the workers are the residents of Rajshahi, he said.
Engineer Mahfuzul Kabir, Deputy Director of the hi-tech park, said there are two portions- Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building and Sajeeb Wazed Joy Silicon Tower- in the park.
Construction works of the Sheikh Kamal IT Incubation and Training Centre were completed last year, while the Joy Silicon Tower is now on the final stage, he said.
Haque said ten companies have so far been given spaces in Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building, while seven others in Joy Silicon Tower.
He added that the park has been built on around 31 acres of land in Nabinagar area adjacent to Rajshahi metropolis aimed at establishing knowledge-based IT industries together with ensuring an area-based development.
Bangladesh Hi-tech Park Authority is implementing the Taka 335.51-crore project initiated by the Information and Communication Technology Division.
Employment opportunities for around 14,000 youths both male and female will be created upon successful completion of the project by December, 2022.
The infrastructure development works include land development, a ten-storey silicon tower in the area of 2.70 lakh square-feet, substation building, internal roads and drains, boundary wall and high-speed internet.
The 62,000 square-feet IT Incubation centre with an energy efficient state of the art office building has multipurpose training facilities, high quality start-ups, rainwater harvesting and renewable energy sources.
Director of the “Establishment of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-Tech Park” project Engineer Fazlul Haque said there is also provision of a Cineplex for showing video documentaries to the investors from both home and abroad besides an auditorium.
He said the silicon tower will have multipurpose facilities including two basement parking floors, high standard training, seminar and conference rooms, rentable office spaces and lounge and recreation area.
All sorts of business environments were ensured for attracting investors from both home and abroad.
As a whole, the park will contribute a lot towards establishing a knowledge based IT industry in Rajshahi side by side with creating a business environment through attracting domestic and foreign investors.
It will also play a significant role in the national economy through creating opportunities for new IT entrepreneurs besides creating employment scopes, experts hoped.