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The overgrowth of the capital city Dhaka has been costly in terms of adverse impact on urban development with at least 6 per cent of Gross Domestic Production (GDP), according to a research paper unveiled on Thursday.
The research paper, titled "Dhaka's Overgrowth and Its Cost," was unveiled during the three-day long Annual BIDS Conference on Development marking the golden jubilee of independence in Dhaka on Thursday.
“This GDP loss combined with direct costs, the costs are significantly higher,” Policy Research Institute (PRI) Director Dr Ahmed Ahsan said while presenting the paper.
"There are direct effects of 2.5 per cent of GDP because of Dhaka's traffic congestion, he said in the paper adding that the city has overgrown by 50 per cent.
"A 1 per cent urban development would ensure about 0.8 per cent of the economic growth in Bangladesh. The lack of concentration and financial limits has not allowed the city to grow up in the proper way" he added.
The paper also said Dhaka holds 32 per cent of the country's total urban population which is the highest in the region, and 11.2 per cent of the total population of the country, which is also the highest in the region.
In comparison, the largest city in China holds only 1.8 per cent of the country population, which is 2 per cent in India, 4 per cent in Indonesia, 8.1 per cent in Vietnam and 8.9 per cent in Pakistan.
"Bangladesh has only five cities where more than 1 million people live. However, our neighbour India has 54 such cities with more than one million population, while China has 102, Indonesia 14, Pakistan 10, Vietnam 7 cities,” he added.
The paper recommended focusing on developing other cities and regions, improving public service and investment climate, and empowering city governments.
It also recommended implementing the laws on decentralization and fiscal facilities on it.
The three days annual conference began on Wednesday.
