A promise undelivered

One of the main housing projects undertaken by the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) in 2017 was the Ananya Residential Area (Second Phase) project.

The much-publicised housing project for port city residents belonging to the middle-income background started five years ago. However, the project is still in limbo as the authorities are yet to begin the construction of the Tk 2,833 crore mega project due to a fund crisis.

The initiative aimed to ease the increasing strain on the port city's residential areas by constructing houses outside the city.

According to the CDA authorities, this project was supposed to take place on at least 2,000 plots, which will partially address the housing needs of the Chattogram residents.

"We hope that the project will result in the expansion of the city, and we will move closer to our goal of planned urbanisation," said Kazi Hasan Bin Shams, chief engineer of CDA.

"However, due to a lack of funding, the project has not yet begun. But we spoke with a bank and are hoping to get a loan shortly to commence the project," he added.

"We hope that the project will result in the expansion of the city, and we will move closer to our goal of planned urbanisation," said Kazi Hasan Bin Shams, chief engineer of CDA.

In the past, the CDA finished the Ananya-1 project in 2005 and gave the owners 1,733 plots.

CDA started the second phase of the project in 2016. The project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on January 31 of 2017, at an estimated cost of Tk 2,833 crore.

With the aid of a bank loan, CDA decided to develop the project on a parcel of land measuring 418.73 acres.

However, during that period, the price of land in Bathua, Quiash, Burishchar, and Shikarpur moujas increased due to the publication of a gazette requesting a payment of three times more the money as compensation for land acquisition. This resulted in a halt in the project.

To keep the cost reasonable, the CDA took the initiative once more to embark on the project at Bathua, Shikarpur, and portions of Quaish moujas.

The project's area has decreased to 276 acres from its originally planned 418.73 acres.

Around 40 percent of the project's overall area will be dedicated to a road, a lake, a playground, and greenery. In the remaining space, 2,000 residential plots of various sizes and 20 commercial plots of considerable sizes would be created.

A hospital, convention centre, and educational facilities will also be built for the locals' convenience.

Contacted, CDA Chairman Zahirul Alam said due to the lockdown situation during the Covid-19 pandemic, the project experienced frequent delays.

Since its founding in 1959, CDA has built 11 housing projects in the city, including the CDA Residential Area, Kalpolok Residential Area, and Karnaphuli Residential Area.