‘Raw material costs, DAP to dictate how 2022 will be’

The Detailed Area Plan (DAP) should be client and businesses-friendly for the sake of low- and middle-income people, Managing Director of Skiros Builders Ltd and also Vice-President of Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) Kamal Mahmud told The Business Post’s Rafikul Islam in an interview

Where do you hope to see the real estate sector in 2022?

The year will be good for us if the DAP is customer and businesses-friendly. We are disappointed with the recent development regarding DAP and would like to request the prime minister to think about us before approving it.

For us, the new year 2022 is crucial. Rising raw material prices forced us to halt many construction projects. The sector will regain its vibrancy once the prices decline.

The government should form a ‘monitoring cell’ so traders cannot raise raw materials prices at their whims. It will be really helpful for us.

Raw material prices and DAP will dictate how the year will be for us.

DAP now awaits Prime Minister’s approval. What are your thoughts?

We have spoken out on the DAP issue many times and also wrote to Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina requesting her to consider our side.

The government wants to build a liveable city for all by 2035 through DAP. Why’re you opposing it?

We are not against DAP, we are talking about “disparity”. We want a DAP that addresses the equity issue.

The number of people who own two or three kathas (1 katha=720 sqft) land is huge. We have to consider their interests too. Finalising DAP will push up flat prices and rents too.

How much black money was invested in the real estate sector last year?

Legalising undisclosed money helped revive the real estate sector amid the Covid-19.

We got enough investment in the sector thanks to the government’s initiatives. We received around Tk 20,000 crore investment in 2021.

Did the single-digit home loan facility help boost investment? 

In the recent past, banks charged 12-15 per cent interest and did not lend over Tk 1 crore. The interest rate has now fallen to single-digit and banks are providing loans over Tk 2 crore. It is a positive development for our sector. It will be better if we get home loans at 6-7 per cent simple interest. It will benefit both realtors and clients and help boost the sector.

The government employees are getting home loans at 5 per cent interest but the required documents often create complexities and discourage them. The government should ease the

process.

What type of allegations did you receive from clients in your customer service cell in 2021?

REHAB has nearly 1,000 members with around 40 lakh people directly engaged in the sector that has 269 linkage industries. So, some complaints can

rise here.

We have formed “Mediation and Customer Service Cell” to address the sector’s problems. We resolved 1,120 complaints since 2004 and currently only, 46 complaints are pending.

What are the main challenges for realtors now?

Land arrangement, for example, is a big challenge for us.  The price of raw construction materials is another one.

We would have got more work opportunities if Rajuk did not undertake housing projects. Rajuk should monitor realtors instead of doing business.

Our sector is contributing around 12-15 per cent to GDP. The government should prioritise the sector to attain LDC graduation and SDGs smoothly.

We request the government for a special Tk 20,000 crore fund for us in the national budget.

What is your future plan?

We would like to build a planned city considering low- and middle-income people.

The middle-class look for 1,200-1,500 sqft flats while low-income people prefer 600-800 sqft flats.

We can face a housing crisis in the future if we don’t think about the people now. Housing is a basic right. So, we have to work for everyone.