The government has formed two teams to identify and recover abandoned commercial property in the country, an official said.
Commerce ministry has taken an initiative to identify such property located in 18 districts.
Md Masukur Rahman Sikder, deputy secretary of the ministry, leads one team while Md Abul Alam Azad, senior assistant secretary, the other.
The properties will be recovered through the 'Abandoned Property (Control, Management and Disposal) Order 1972 (PO 16 of 1972)'.
The ministry has asked deputy commissioners for necessary cooperation to this end.
"We're working to identify the exact number of abandoned commercial property," said Mr Azad.
The teams are now working to identify abandoned property in Jashore and Thakurgaon, he told the FE.
After their survey, Mr Azad said, the teams will report to the ministry for further action.
Another official said the government is working to enact a new law through amending the existing one only to gear up the recovery effort.
An abandoned property means any property owned by an individual who is not present in Bangladesh or whose whereabouts remain unknown.
A property also becomes abandoned if he or she has ceased to occupy, supervise or manage that in person.
Hundreds of abandoned commercial property worth billions of taka lie unoccupied in different districts.
Apart from the state initiative, local businessmen have long been calling for recovering abandoned commercial property for the greater good of the country.
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