Rajuk may invite fresh applications for Uttara flats

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) is likely to seek fresh applications from people for more than 9,000 flats under its largest apartment project at the Uttara Residential Model Town from February next with increased prices for flats, officials have said.
The city development authority has almost completed all preparations overcoming the massive blow it faced due to the earlier contracted construction company's negligence in construction work that led to cancellation of the contract with joint venture company ENA-DUNGA last year.
It also cut the number of flats to 15,036 from 18,000. The flats will be built at Section-18 of Uttara in the capital. But officials concerned hinted at a hike in prices for the flats from the existing rates.
When contacted, Rajuk Chief Engineer Md. Hafizur Rahman Munshi said they had been holding a series of meetings with representatives of Malaysian government over the last few weeks to settle issues like modern construction methodology and prices of the flats.
"It will require more than one month for completing the remaining formalities," he said.
He said a total of 179 buildings, each 16-storey in size, would be built in three blocks -- A, B, C and 100 buildings (8,400 flats) in the blocks B and C would be constructed with Malaysian financial and technical assistance on the G2G (government to government) basis while a local company would construct 79 buildings (6,636 flats) in the block-A under the scheme.  
Talking about the issue, Member (Development) of the Rajuk Naim Ahmed Khan said they had almost completed the formalities as Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project in principle.
"It's now lying with the purchase committee and we're hopeful of getting their nod within this month (December)," he said. A large number of apartments would be given to middle and lower income group people, he added.
He said the buildings would be constructed with the methodology of Industrialised Building System (IBS) where the flats of 1,250 square feet (sft) and 1050 sft in size would be built to accommodate people who do not have any house in the city.
IBS is a term used in Malaysia for a technique of construction where by components are manufactured in a controlled environment, either at site or off site.
Mr. Khan, also an official with joint secretary status, said the buildings would have facilities like solar panel, rain water harvesting and Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) to make those environment-friendly.
Seeking anonymity, an engineer who is engaged with the project said they planned to seek fresh applications from people from February, 2015 for 9,000 plus flats as nearly 6,000 apartments would be kept ready for the successful applicants who applied earlier.
About prices of the apartments, he said: "Although nothing is final but the rate could be at Tk 6,000 per square feet (sft) in place of initial estimation of Tk 4,000 per sft," he said.
According to the calculation, if finalised, the price of a flat of 1250 sft will stand at Tk 7.5 million while an apartment of 1050 sft at Tk 6.3 million. Under the existing rate, the price is Tk 5.0 million and 4.2 million respectively.      
About the development of 6,636 flats in Block-A, he said a number of local companies have participated in the tender to construct 79 buildings, that were earlier awarded to the ENA-DUNGA.
"Their (participated firms) financial and technical offers are being evaluated by the high-powered evaluation committee of Rajuk. We hope, the evaluation process would be completed in a month," he added.
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