‘6m affordable housing needed for low-income people’

A total of six million affordable housing units worth Tk7.1 trillion are needed for the sake of low and middle income people in Bangladesh by 2030, International Finance Corporation (IFC) study says.

The Regional Manager of PPP Transaction Advisory Services of South Asia and East Asia Pacific at IFC Thomas Lubeck disclosed the figure at Fifth Roundtable virtually on “Supply of Affordable Housing” jointly organized by IFC and Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI).

Yan F. Zhang, Senior Urban Economist of Urban Development of South Asia region at World Bank said that lower income peoples are vulnerable due to the climate change.

“Urban slum areas people do not get proper housing and health support. Increasing land accessibility is needed for affordable housing in urban areas,” Zhang also said.

As the chief guest there, State minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said the government has taken large necessary initiatives for homeless and lower income peoples.

“Bangladesh house building finance corporation (BHBFC) has been providing loans for housing. The organization provided loans get many but lower income peoples can’t get opportunity properly. So, a strong public-private partnership is needed to ensure affordable housing for all,” the Ekushey Padak-winning economist also said.

Moderating the webinar, Executive director of Policy Research Institute (PRI) Ahsan H Mansur said, “Affordable and secured housing is part of our life. However, the economic activities create industry for our comfortable life.’

Principal & Fund Manager, Tamil Nadu Shelter Fund in India Vivek Sharma; Chairman of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) A B M Aminullah Nuri; Investment Officer, PPP Transaction Advisory Services of IFC Sumeet Shukla; Managing Director of Rangs Properties Ltd Mashid Rahman; Secretary and Chief Executive Officer, Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) Sultana Afroz; and Country Manager, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal of IFC Martin Holtmann were among there took part in the webinar.

They said around 6-7 lakh people add to the population of Dhaka every year. So, there is a need for nearly 130,000 housing units. But developers provide over 25,000 units each year on average. So, Bangladesh needs to develop a business model.

They said that Dhaka’s population grows by about 6-7 lakh people per year. As a result, around 130,000 housing units are required. Developers, on the other hand, provide an average of more than 25,000 units per year. It is necessary to a business model.

The speakers also added that almost 60 per cent of the country’s population is in the middle-income group. They can be the target group for affordable home schemes.

The country should control urban migration. Otherwise, housing will never be affordable. And the country needs to develop the communication system and establish basic facilities outside of urban areas.

The experts also pointed out that Bangladesh has failed to do maximum utilisation of its land in urban areas. The living condition is also very poor here.