Flats, plots worth  Tk401cr booked

The five-day REHAB Fair 2021 ended on a high note on Monday, with the participants recording sales and bookings of plots and flats worth over Tk 401 crore, organisers said.

Flats worth Tk 198 crore, plots of Tk 125 crore and commercial space of Tk 78.38 crore have been sold and booked at the fair, Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) President Alamgir Shamsul Alamin told the media on the closing day on Monday.

“We have successfully organised the fair after two years amid the Covid-19,” he said, adding that over 19,000 visitors attended the fair.

A total of 220 stalls were set up at the fair, where realtors, building material suppliers, banks and other financial institutions showcased their products and services. Of the stalls, there are two diamond pavilions, six gold sponsors, 22 co-sponsors, 15 building material companies and 13 finance investors. 

The main goal of the REHAB Fair is to brand companies’ products. In the exposition, realtors present details of their products to the customers. Executives of the respective companies highlight features of their products to help people make informed choices. Some visitors bought flats or plots from the fair while others booked them.

Alamin said they are optimistic that the sector will make a turnaround over the coming years.

“Real estate is a big sector … so, there could be some allegations. We have a cell to address the issues and have already resolved many problems,” he said.

On the opening day, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi urged realtors not to cheat customers while selling apartments.

“We receive many complaints against realtors that they take money from consumers but don’t hand over apartments properly or timely. We hope that it won’t happen again,” the minister said at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.

He also said realtors have been playing a significant role in building a planned city adding that the DAP (detailed area plan) policy should be finalised through discussion with all parties concerned.

He said that all backward linkage sectors would be affected if the real estate sector was affected.

Expressing frustration over the DAP, Alamin said, “The real estate sector has to be prioritised as Bangladesh is going forward. We contribute 15 per cent to GDP.”

FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin urged the authorities concerned to send a draft copy of the Detailed Area Plan to the federation.

“Bangladesh is going to attain LDC graduation and the country will achieve development status by 2041. So we have to align with various policies and think about building cities like Dubai and London,” he maintained.

“The government has taken initiatives to establish 101 economic zones.

One zone should be for housing where foreigners will be eager to live. Our export will reach $300 billion in 2041 and we have to develop our infrastructure accordingly.”

RAJUK Chairman ABM Amin Ullah Nuri said they would finalise the DAP after discussion with all parties. “We do all things to build a planned and environmentally friendly city,” he said.