Move underway to build regional office of Coast Guard

Publish: 5:19 PM, November 7, 2019 | Update: 5:19 PM, November 7, 2019

DHAKA, – The government has initiated a move to build the Dhaka region office and residential buildings of Bangladesh Coast Guard to enhance the overall operational and logistics capacity of this force alongside improving their accommodation facilities.

“The planning commission has considered positively a draft project to this end titled ‘Construction of Dhaka Regional Office and Residential Buildings of Bangladesh Coast Guard,” said a senior planning commission official.

Bangladesh Coast Guard and the Department of Public Works under the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs will implement the project with an estimated cost of Taka 303.65 crore with entire government fund by June 2022.

The planning commission official said the move came since the government is focusing more on the blue economy after winning around 1,18,813 square kilometers of marine areas at the Bay of Bengal through resolving of the maritime boundary disputes with neighboring India and Myanmar.

Talking to the national news agency, another official at the Ministry of Home Affairs said that once implemented, the project is likely to increase the overall capabilities of Coast Guard.

Under the project, residential and administrative buildings will be erected in Baunia, Joar Sahara, Dumni and Mostul areas in the city while Coast Guard’s regional office at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar will see vertical expansion since there is no free space there.

The project evaluation committee (PEC) of the planning commission held the first evaluation meeting on the project proposal on September 10 last year and suggested for making some changes to it.

Accordingly, the project’s development project proforma (DPP) was restructured and it would be been placed before the Ecnec meeting soon for approval.

Planning Commission officials said initially Taka 220.33 crore was allocated for the project to construct residential and other administrative buildings in the city’s Agargaon area for the coast guard members working in Dhaka zone.

But, the proposal could not get PEC’s ‘go ahead’ as there is no scope of constructing residential buildings at Agargaon as it is an administrative area.

Later, 25 acres of land in Baunia and Joar Sahar mouzas and 8 acres of land in Dumni and Mostul mouzas were acquired for the purpose.

Because of the space shortage at Agargaon’s regional office, it has also been decided to expand the existing office building vertically.

The main project operations include over 4.62 lakh cubic metres of land development, a 14-storey quarter for the sailors having space of 10,256 square meter, five-storey administrative building, a two-storey mosque and guard building in Baunia and Joar Sahara areas.

In Dumni and Mostul areas, over 59,206.56 cubic metres of land will be developed and 10-storey officers’ quarter and a 10-storey officers’ mess, a two-storey mosque, a two-storey bungalow for the Director General and fencing wall will be erected.

Besides, the existing regional office in the city will be expanded and external water supply and electricity connection will be ensured alongside creating rainwater reservoir and tree plantation and procuring furniture, office equipments and pick up vans.

Bangladesh Coast Guard was created under the home ministry according to the Coast Guard Law 1994. Since its inception, it is properly monitoring coastal and inland water areas.

The force’s duty and responsibility got a new dimension after Bangladesh got a vast maritime area at the Bay of Bengal after resolving maritime disputes with India and Myanmar.

Side by side, the government also lays special emphasis on Blue Economy to tap the huge economic potentials in the deep sea.