Govt targets shifting Secretariat to Agargaon during current tenure

The government has taken a fresh initiative to relocate the Secretariat from Abdul Gani Road to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar after 11 years of delays and failed expansion plans.

Housing and Public Works Minister Zakaria Taher Sumon told journalists at the Secretariat on Tuesday (October 13) that a proposal to shift the Secretariat to Agargaon will be presented at the upcoming Cabinet meeting for approval. Primary and main execution works will begin once Cabinet sanction is received, with the government aiming to complete the relocation within its current tenure.

The administrative hub has remained at Abdul Gani Road for decades, but the initiative to move it to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar has been stalling for 11 years. During the Awami League government ousted in the July Mass Uprising, several attempts were made to relocate the Secretariat to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

During the interim government, an effort was made to expand the Secretariat to the GPO site instead of moving it. However, neither plan was executed. The current government has now taken fresh steps to relocate the Secretariat to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.

According to Housing and Public Works Ministry sources, the ousted Awami League government in 2015 initiated a project worth Tk 2,209 crore to relocate the Secretariat, with a target completion date of June 2018. At that time, the original masterplan of the entire Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area, including the National Parliament, designed by American architect Louis I Kahn, was brought to the country at a cost of 400,000 USD.

As per that design, four main nine-storey buildings with 14-storey foundations were to be built on 32 acres of land north of Zia Uddin and west of the Bangladesh-China Friendship International Conference Center, where the International Trade Fair was previously held.

On the other hand, an initiative was taken to expand the Secretariat to the site of the Directorate of Posts' General Post Office (GPO) located at Zero Point in Gulistan. The masterplan was modified for this purpose, leading to extensive correspondence between ministries and departments. However, the Postal Division raised strong objections.

On March 25, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works submitted a summary for the Chief Adviser's approval, describing the GPO site as vacant and abandoned. The summary stated that in 2010, the Postal Directorate headquarters and other operations were shifted from Gulistan to a newly constructed 14-storey letter-box-shaped building in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar administrative area on land transferred by Public Works.

As a result, the more than 60-year-old Gulistan GPO building currently remains unused and abandoned.

The summary noted that 42 ministries and divisions currently operate on the 20.83 acres of land designated for the Bangladesh Secretariat. As manpower and operational scope grow continuously, space shortages have become acute.

Constructing a new building on the unused GPO site adjacent to the Secretariat was proposed to resolve the space crisis and speed up ministerial work.

Following this, Postmaster General of Dhaka Metro Circle Altaf-ur-Rahman sent a letter of objection to the ministry. In the letter, the Postal Division stated that although headquarter operations shifted to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, a total of 25 offices, including the GPO, were never shifted from the Gulistan building.

The GPO building has never been vacant or abandoned, nor is it now. It was built as the Director General's office. Currently, the Director General's office and the International Postal Accounting Office operate from the Postal Building. There are no unused floors in the new Postal Building at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, making it impossible to transfer any office from the GPO building there.

Sources said that during the new BNP government, a project worth Tk 650 crore was taken to construct a 21-storey building inside the existing Secretariat. When the project was presented at an ECNEC meeting on April 26, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman returned it without approval, directing the Public Works Ministry and the Department of Architecture to review whether the Secretariat could be shifted to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar instead.

Over the past five months, the Public Works Ministry held several meetings with stakeholders. The preliminary cost of implementing the relocation project was estimated at Tk 3,500 crore.

Following five months of reviews, a report was presented to the Prime Minister last Wednesday. Three separate design teams from the Department of Architecture presented three distinct layouts before the Prime Minister, of which one design was finalized. The Public Works Department was instructed to prepare a formal project based on that approved design.

Speaking anonymously, several urban experts noted that Louis Kahn's plan was framed in the context of the 1960s. Relocating the Secretariat based on that perspective today may not be logical, warning that traffic congestion could become severe.

The Housing and Public Works Ministry believes that leaving the designated land vacant risks encroachment. Moving the Secretariat ensures the land remains protected, though traffic management must be prioritized during execution.

Minister Zakaria Taher Sumon explained that severe space shortages and vehicle parking issues frequently create complications at the present Secretariat, forcing offices of many ministries to remain scattered outside the main complex.

Furthermore, most existing Secretariat buildings were built in the 1960s and are quite old. Repairing them and finding permanent alternatives has become essential considering safety risks during natural disasters, including earthquakes.

Taking all aspects into account, the government aims to complete the full relocation to Agargaon within its present tenure. Once formal Cabinet approval is secured, all primary and main construction and shifting operations will be completed within the target timeframe.

Under the new proposed design, a circular road will surround the new Secretariat. A road will be constructed behind the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center, running alongside the July Martyrs Memorial Museum (former Ganolok Bhaban) to connect with Mirpur Road. 

However, as schools, hospitals, the Ministry of Defence, and other structures exist beside the museum, constructing this road may require relocating those establishments.

Ministry sources added that discussions are underway to construct an underground road beneath the arterial road stretching from Bijoy Sarani through Agargaon toward Mirpur 10. Upper lanes will provide access to the proposed Secretariat, while the underground passage will route traffic toward Mirpur Road.

A separate project may be formulated for this subway. Under the proposed layout, each Secretariat building will be 12 storeys high, designed in aesthetic harmony with the National Parliament.

Public Works Ministry sources further revealed that once the Secretariat moves from Abdul Gani Road to Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, government offices in Old Dhaka—including the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner (DC) Office and the Superintendent of Police (SP) Office—may be relocated to the vacated current Secretariat premises.

Due to inadequate space at the current Secretariat, officials face daily operational difficulties, while surrounding traffic congestion wastes significant work hours. The present Secretariat covers 1.7 million square feet, whereas the proposed Secretariat design spans 3.1 million square feet.

-SA