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As soon as Nazrul Islam was asked about the experience of living in the RAJUK Uttara Apartment Project (RAUP) area, he said the first problem about living here is very tough to get around without a personal vehicle.
“There are no hospitals, not even a pharmacy, in the area. There are no schools and suitable kitchen markets and most of all, there is no sustainable communication system in the area,” he said frustratingly.
“That’s why I bought a bicycle because otherwise, you will have to spend Tk 40 on a rickshaw to go and buy a strip of Napa tablets that costs Tk 20,” he explained.
Nazrul also said that a BRTC bus service used to serve the commuters only in the morning that has also stopped a while ago.
What could have been an excellent example of planned housing has turned into a place of suffering for many as the authorities have handed over apartments to their owners without ensuring the basic services in the area, said many residents.
Bashundhara Group provides gas to the apartments in the sleek sky-high buildings along the Ashulia-Mirpur Flood Protection Embankment Road. Many buildings have gas connections while the rest have LPG cylinders.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK) has said that 95 per cent of the apartments from Block A under the project have already been allotted.
RAJUK, however, did not explain the reason behind handing over apartments without ensuring the basic amenities but said it would ensure all sorts of facilities by the time the project is completed in June 2023.
Inside the project
The capital city’s development authority initiated the RAJUK Uttara Apartment Project in 2011, with the aim to complete it by 2016. The construction works started in 2014. Later, the project deadline was extended to June 2020.
The project started with three blocks on 214 acres of land, where 240 buildings, all 16-story, with 18,732 apartments in total would be built. The initial project cost was Tk 9,030 crore.
In the beginning, the price per square foot of a flat stood at Tk 3,500. As a result, the price of one 1,620 square feet flat amounted to approximately Tk 56.70 lakh. Later, RAJUK raised the price to Tk 4,800 per square foot.
In 2017, RAJUK extended the project deadline to June 2022 and increased the project cost to Tk 10,586 crore. However, it failed to finish on time and this year managed to get another extension until June next year without increasing the cost.
Of the three blocks, the construction work of Block A is nearly complete. The budget for this block was Tk 4,869.74 crore.
Out of the 79 buildings in this block, RAJUK has so far built 73 buildings. Six other buildings, consisting of 504 flats, are still under construction.
The construction work of the buildings in the other two blocks has not begun as a government-to-government agreement between Bangladesh and Malaysia has not been signed yet.
Talking to The Business Post, Project Director Mozaffar Uddin said that four of the six under-construction buildings are being built by the Public Works Department (PWD) and RAJUK is building the other two. “All of them will be ready soon.”
More than 4,000 apartments have already been handed over to the owners and people are living in over 2,000 of them, said Mozaffar, who is the 11th person to take up the role of this project’s director.
The project’s Deputy Director Riduwan Sayed also said that 6,324 out of 6,636 apartments in total have been allotted so far.
What about the services?
Asked about the amenities for the residents, Riduwan said land has already been allotted to build a school in the apartment compound.
Mozaffar said two commercial buildings — the RAUP Community Centre and a shopping mall — are in the final stage of construction.
Two floors of the centre would be used to set up a diagnostic centre that will have a pharmacy. Apart from commercial spaces for banks and financial institutes, this building will also house a convention centre and a super shop, he said.
He added that the first floor of the central mosque would be complete and open for all in late December.
Asaduzzaman Nur, president of Nilanjana Building Management Committee, said RAJUk has informed them that all the basic facilities will be set up and opened as soon as possible. “We are now waiting.”
“External communication is another major issue. We hope they will expand the service instead of stopping it,” he added.
Project Director Mozaffar said he was unaware of the suspension of the BRTC bus service. “We’ll look into it.”
