Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives State Minister Mir Shahe Alam on Saturday stressed the need to ensure engineers play an active role in every stage of development projects, from planning and design to implementation, saying technical decisions should remain in the hands of engineering professionals.
He said engineering-related institutions should ensure the appointment of qualified engineers, arguing that greater professional involvement would improve the quality of development projects, ensure proper use of public funds and support sustainable national development.
The state minister made the remarks while inaugurating a seminar titled "Inauguration of APMCE2026 & Success and Failure of Projects from Project Management Viewpoint: Bangladesh and International Context" at the Council Hall of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) headquarters in Ramna. The seminar was organised by the IEB Civil Engineering Division.
Mir Shahe Alam said research findings could play an effective role in government policymaking and development planning, calling for stronger government support to implement research-based recommendations.
Expressing concern over the growing tendency of engineering graduates to pursue administrative careers instead of engineering, he said the country was losing skilled engineers despite the significant time and public investment required to produce them.
He also emphasised the importance of adopting long-term planning while preparing development project proposals (DPPs), taking into account feasibility, maintenance, environmental impact and future needs.
Referring to the DPP approval process, the state minister said project proposals prepared by engineers are often returned by the Planning Commission for revision through individuals who are not engineering professionals, resulting in inadequate assessment of technical realities.
He stressed the need for greater participation of engineers in the Planning Commission to ensure technically sound project evaluation.
Highlighting the contribution of engineers, he said their achievements in infrastructure development, industrialisation, power, transport, information technology and economic growth often receive less attention than isolated project failures.
Addressing architects, Mir Shahe Alam urged them to prioritise natural light and ventilation in building designs to reduce electricity consumption and promote environmentally friendly and healthy buildings.
Speaking as special guest, Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Iqbal said development projects should be guided by long-term planning rather than short-term thinking.
He said project sustainability, maintenance, economic viability, environmental impact and the needs of future generations must all be considered alongside construction.
Iqbal said the joint initiative by IEB and DUET would contribute to research, knowledge sharing and the formulation of effective national development policies, while also strengthening collaboration between academia and industry.
In his welcome address, IEB Honorary General Secretary Prof Dr Engr Md Sabbir Mostafa Khan said most buildings in Bangladesh are still not constructed according to modern earthquake-resistant standards.
As Bangladesh is located in an earthquake-prone region, he stressed the need to prioritise earthquake-resilient technologies in future infrastructure projects and suggested learning from Japan's experience and expertise.
He also recommended developing small-scale, demand-based local water supply systems alongside centralised water supply networks.
In addition, he said new roads should be planned with a minimum of four lanes to accommodate future traffic growth and urbanisation, reducing the need for repeated road widening and saving public resources.
The keynote paper was presented by Executive Engineer of the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) and Chairman of the IEB Civil Engineering Division Engr Muhammad Shafiqul Islam (Khoka).
Among others, IEB President and RAJUK Chairman Engr Mohammad Riajul Islam (Riju) and DUET Civil Engineering Department Head Prof Dr Engr Md Abu Tayeb attended the seminar as special guests.
The session was chaired by Engr Md Ainul Kabir, Vice-Chairman of the IEB Civil Engineering Division, and moderated by the division's Secretary Engr Nesar Uddin. Engineers from government and private organisations, IEB council members and representatives from various engineering chapters also attended the event.