United News of Bangladesh

A government housing project in Narayanganj launched nearly a decade ago to ease accommodation shortages for public servants remains incomplete despite repeated deadline extensions. The project, titled “Construction of 672 Residential Flats in Eight 15-Storey Buildings for Government Officers and Employees at Aliganj, Narayanganj (2nd Revised)”, is being implemented by the Public Works Department (PWD) under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. Under the latest extension, the completion deadline has been pushed to June 2026. The original implementation period was set from January 2016 to June 2019. Project documents show that the timeline was first extended to June 2020, and subsequently to June 2021, June 2022 and June 2023 — all without cost escalation.  Under the second revised approval, the tenure was extended to June, 2025. The most recent decision has again deferred completion to June, 2026, still without any additional expenditure. The project is being developed on 11.65 acres of PWD land at Aliganj in Narayanganj Sadar upazila, around five kilometres from Jatrabari in Dhaka.  Of the total land, 5.70 acres comprise the area locally known as the Aliganj playground. The initial approved cost was Tk 398.16 crore. Following the first revision, the cost rose to Tk 402.43 crore, and under the second revision it increased marginally to Tk 404.04 crore. The project is fully financed by the government. Officials concerned said the latest extension was necessitated by delays in completing the 15-storey buildings and associated works, including internal sanitation and water supply systems, gas connections and electrical installations. Once completed, the project is expected to provide 672 modern flats for government officers and employees.  Authorities say the initiative aims to address housing shortages, ensure proper utilisation of government land and enhance public service delivery by improving living facilities for public servants. Earlier, the then planning minister had assured that the project would be completed by June 2019. The construction has not been without controversy.  The buildings are being erected on land widely known as the Aliganj playground.  At the initial stage, local residents — including freedom fighters, sports organisers and youth groups — staged protests, formed human chains and submitted a mass petition to the district administration seeking cancellation of the project.  Despite the opposition, construction work continued.