The High Court has ordered the settlement of stake between parties in the Sheraton building – constructed by Borak Real Estate Ltd on the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) land in Banani’s 44 Kamal Ataturk Avenue.
The court ordered the distribution of the building’s due share from 15th to 28th floors among the parties through negotiation within 30 days, after being informed about the matter. It also asked for a compliance report to be submitted within a month.
The bench of justices Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khizir Hayat passed the order on Tuesday in response to a writ, and after receiving a report in this regard from the DNCC and RAJUK. It also set October 9 for the next hearing.
The DNCC and Borak Real Estate have started the process of share distribution following the High Court order on Tuesday. As per the decision of DNCC’s 18th and 19th board meetings, to lay claim on the corporation’s 40 per cent share of net space, the DNCC authority has conducted an in-person inspection of the building.
It should be noted that during Tuesday’s hearing, DNCC lawyer Imtiaz Moinul Islam Neelim informed the court that the city corporation does not have more than 22 per cent share on any building constructed on their land.
Only Borak provided a 30 per cent stake to the DNCC on the lower floors of the building. From the 15th to the 28th floor, the corporation received a 40 per cent stake according to the building construction agreement.
When taking into account the ownership of 25 per cent common area, the city corporation owns an average of 55 per cent to 65 per cent of the building.
Neelim also told the court that the city corporation owns an average of 55-65 per cent of the building including the common space and the shops. “We are relatively satisfied with this deal. The Local Government Division has been notified about the development.”
During the hearing, RAJUK's lawyer Imam Hasan pointed out that the design of the building built at 44 Kamal Ataturk Avenue in Banani was not cleared by RAJUK.
In this context, the state’s lawyer Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Md Saifuddin Khaled told the court that the city corporation’s chief engineer, who is employed as an authorised officer by the government under the Building Construction Act, 1952 to authorise such construction on the city corporation’s land, approved the design.
He also said that the chief engineer as the authorised officer has also approved the designs of buildings meant to be built on the lands owned by the city corporation in Banani, Gulshan, Motijheel and other areas.
DNCC’s lawyer Neelim and Borak Real Estate Ltd’s lawyer ABM Altaf Hossain, during the hearing, also backed DAG Khaled’s remarks regarding the chief engineer’s authority.
The lawyers present at the hearing apprised the court of the existence of multiple design approval authorities in Dhaka city, besides RAJUK. To illustrate, the Department of Architecture holds the responsibility of assessing and granting approval for designs concerning land under the ownership of the Public Works Department.
Similarly, the Cantonment Board is tasked with approving designs for building construction within the territories falling under its jurisdiction. Furthermore, the city corporation’s chief engineer approves architectural designs for construction on the city corporation's land within the city.
On May 7, 2006, an agreement was signed between Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and Borak Real Estate Ltd to construct a multi-storied building on plot No 44 at Kamal Ataturk Avenue in Banani.
As per the deal, Borak Real Estate constructed the Sheraton hotel building there in compliance with all government rules and regulations. It is a project jointly owned by Borak Real Estate and DNCC.
Subsequently, the then authorised official – the chief engineer of Dhaka City Corporation – on June 25, 2007, approved the design of the 30-storey building. The building was constructed after vetting of structural design by BUET on February 12, 2007.
In 2007, the city corporation secured clearance for the construction of the 30 floors from a range of pertinent organisations, including the city corporation, DMP, Fire Service and Civil Defence, Titas Gas, Department of Environment, DESCO, and Dhaka WASA.
Tenders were invited on April 10, 2004, for the construction of the building on 60 katha land as per the RFP of the city corporation.
In 2011, the then DNCC chief executive officer sent a letter to the local government secretary stating that the construction of 30 floors – an increase from 15 – had been approved by the then mayor Annisul Huq.
Annisul took the initiative to resolve any outstanding issues between the two parties through discussion and informed Borak Real Estate in writing on May 31, 2015.
Borak Real Estate has built the hotel on its portion, which is located on floors 12 to 28. DNCC’s portion is reserved, which is located from the 4th to the 11th floor.
The share distribution process of the 15th to 28th floors of Sheraton has already been approved by the two parties in a DNCC board meeting with the mayor in chair. DNCC’s shares in the project have increased from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
DNCC informed the Local Government Division secretary through two letters in March and August 2023 about that decision.
