New provisions incorporated in updated draft BNBC

The draft on updated Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) has incorporated some new provisions including formation of a central controlling authority for strict enforcement of its rules and regulations.
The proposed five-member Bangladesh Building Regulatory Authority will deal with issues relating to approval and supervision of construction of any commercial or apartment buildings.
Besides, the draft has also included yet another provision under which a 33- metre or 10-storey building will be treated as a high-rise one against a six-storey building previously.
These were disclosed at a seminar on 'Sharing of Updated Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC)' at a city hotel Thursday. Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI), the draft preparing agency, organised the seminar.
Housing minister Engr Mosharraf Hossain was present as the chief guest while housing secretary Golam Rabbani, chief architect of directorate of architecture Ahsanul Haque Khan and Oxfam country director Snehal V Soneji were present. Former chief architect of directorate of architecture ASM Ismail presented the keynote paper.
A gazette notification will be issued soon to implement the updated BNBC.
The government will appoint the proposed central authority comprising one civil engineer, one architect, one planner, one lawyer and one civil service employee. The chairman who will be either an architect or a civil engineer must have 30 years of experience in design and construction.
Various city development authorities including Rajuk, CDA, KDA and RDA used to implement the BNBC for all these years. From now on all have to construct any building following the BNBC wherever the location is. An official of the central authority will be present in the local government institution like development authority, city corporation and pourasava to serve the citizens across the country so that people need not come to the central office.     
Mosharraf Hossain said upgradation of BNBC is a time-befitting step. "Many buildings are being constructed at upazila level but who will approve those?" asked the minister.
"The buildings all over the country including those in rural areas should be constructed following the building code for the sake of security," said Mr Hossain.
He said the fire safety issue has got much importance in the building code. Besides, permission for the buildings will be given after scrutinising whether those are earthquake-tolerant and have fire extinguishing systems to avoid incident like Rana Plaza again, he added.   
In the draft six new chapters have been added including energy scarcity and sustainability, rain water harvesting, conservation of historical and traditional sites, and use of bamboo.
The BNBC was first adopted in 1993 which became a law in 2006. Although there was provision for its upgradation in every five years, it was not done regularly.