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Bangladesh to shift Secretariat to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar
Published : Monday, 12 October, 2026 at 11:59 AM
Observer Online Report
Collected Photo
The government has taken a policy decision to relocate the Bangladesh Secretariat from its long-standing location on Abdul Gani Road to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, approving a Tk 3,500 crore project aimed at modernizing administration and easing urban congestion.
The decision was finalized during a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Prime Minister’s Office, attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, the Public Works Department (PWD), and the Department of Architecture.
Following the decision, the Public Works Ministry formally requested the Planning Commission to include the relocation initiative in the Annual Development Program (ADP). An inter-ministerial meeting is scheduled for next week to review the framework.
Under the finalized layout, the new Secretariat will be constructed across 32 acres of land at the former International Trade Fair grounds—located north of Zia Udyan and west of the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC). The site has remained unutilized since the annual trade fair was permanently shifted to Purbachal in 2021.
Chief Architect of the Department of Architecture, Asifur Rahman Bhuiyan, confirmed that three distinct architectural designs were presented to the Prime Minister, with one design unanimously selected for implementation. The proposal will shortly be submitted to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for formal approval.
Infrastructure, Underground Passages, and Road Expansion
The project will expand the Secretariat's total floor space from its current 1.7 million square feet to 3.1 million square feet. Key features of the master plan include:
12-Storey Administrative Blocks: Building structures designed to complement the architectural aesthetic of the nearby National Parliament Building.
Circular Road Network: A perimeter road passing behind the BICC, linking to Mirpur Road alongside the July Memorial Museum (formerly Gono Bhaban).
Underground Expressways: Proposals for a subterranean roadway beneath the main arterial road connecting Bijoy Sarani, Agargaon, and Mirpur-10 to separate local commuter transit from administrative traffic entering the Secretariat.
Future Use of Existing Abdul Gani Road Facilities
Once the ministries complete their transition to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, the existing Abdul Gani Road complex will be repurposed. Ministry sources indicated that district-level administrative offices currently scattered across Old Dhaka—including the offices of the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the Superintendent of Police (SP)—will be consolidated at the site.
Urban planners, however, have raised concerns regarding potential traffic bottlenecks. They fear that integrating a high-density administrative complex into Agargaon—already home to numerous government headquarters—could escalate traffic gridlock unless public transit connectivity and bypass corridors are rigorously implemented.
-SA
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
