Dhaka may earn Dh82.11m in forex from non-residents

Bangladesh expects to earn 1.29 billion Bangladesh taka (Dh82.11 million) in foreign exchange from the purchase of plots by non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) - half of whom are from the Gulf - towards the development of a new township project -Purbachal.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the Dhaka city development authority in charge of the project, last month allocated 2,961 plots out of a total 12,000 to NRBs in a move aimed at bringing in foreign currency.

The allotment of the remaining 9,039 plots has not yet been disclosed and remains hanging in the balance.

About 50 per cent of the plots allotted is to the expats in the Gulf countries. Of these, 676 have received allotment for three-katha (unit) plots, 1,310; 5-katha plots; 513, 7.5-katha plots; and the remaining 462 10-katha plots.

All these are expected to receive provisional allotment letters soon and the process of sending letters has already begun, the notice said.

The authority, in a public notice issued on January 9, while announcing the allotment, also asked those allotted the plots to remit a partial payment in foreign currency by March 31, as part payment against the value of each property.

For three, five, 7.5 and 10 katha plots, they have been asked to pay $3,000, $6,000, $11,000 and $15,000 respectively. The incomplete data on these properties has created a lot of confusion among Bangladeshi expatriates.

Firstly, the value of the property has not been determined yet. An NRB doesn't know how much he will end up paying in the long run.

They noted that although government plots are much cheaper compared with commercially sold properties, one needs to know at least what is the total value of the property, in order to arrange finance.

Besides, the holding numbers of the properties have also not been mentioned in the list.

An NRB allottee does not know where his plot will be located once the huge township is developed in the suburbs of Dhaka. The development will spread over four districts - Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Narshingdi.

A plot in Narayanganj will be less lucrative than one located in Dhaka. In the absence of a holding number, one might be taken for a ride while getting the actual location later.

Finally, the government has given no assurances about when the plots will be handed over to the allottees.

Rajuk first invited applications for the plots in 2001, keeping a quota for NRBs.

After the present government assumed power in October, 2001, it gave the public another chance to apply. Accordingly, a huge number of people, mainly from the U.S., applied for plots in the new township.

About 600 applications have been processed by four branches of the state-owned Janata Bank in the UAE.