Rajuk's Old Dhaka makeover: Lessons from past failures

Rajuk's ambitious Tk5,258.40 crore plan to transform around 6,500 acres of Old Dhaka risks running into the same land ownership and implementation hurdles that hampered earlier initiatives unless the underlying problems are addressed first, a Buet urban planning expert has warned.

Md Musleh Uddin Hasan, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), also urged the authorities to take a phased approach and begin the massive redevelopment initiative with a limited pilot area.

"A similar initiative was taken before," Professor Hasan said. "The key question is whether the challenges that prevented the first attempt from succeeding can be addressed this time. If those problems still persist, they must be resolved first."

Under the proposed Old Dhaka Revitalisation initiative, Rajuk plans to redevelop dilapidated privately owned buildings using a social housing model while preserving 60% of the land as open space.

The proposed project, covering wards 24 to 61 of the Dhaka South City Corporation and part of ward 62, also envisions wider roads, green spaces, communal parking and restored water bodies, among other facilities.

However, Professor Hasan identified complex land tenure as a major roadblock to redevelopment in the historic quarters.

"Many properties in Old Dhaka lack formal ownership documents because they have been inherited over generations without proper registration. That was a major obstacle previously."

He said the sheer scale of the proposed project was another important consideration, arguing that a phased approach would be far more effective.

Professor Hasan recommended beginning work in a strictly limited pilot area, which he said could help demonstrate the project's feasibility and gain the confidence of residents before it is expanded.

"If the project can first be implemented successfully on a small scale, it will build public confidence and encourage wider participation. Furthermore, since our institutional capacity for a project of this magnitude is still developing, engaging external experts in the initial stages will allow for a 'learning by doing' approach to train local professionals for later phases."

Rajuk officials have also argued that past redevelopment initiatives failed because they were too fragmented.

Instead of wholesale demolition, the agency is advocating a balanced and phased approach combining selective redevelopment, infrastructure upgrades and strict heritage conservation.

The authorities have already decided to launch a pilot project to build public confidence and work out temporary relocation strategies for residents.

Project officials have acknowledged that the redevelopment cannot proceed without the backing of local property owners, who would have to agree to contribute their land to the pool. Extensive consultations with residents and elected representatives are expected during the study phase.