The National Housing Authority (NHA) is implementing 34 projects across the country to ensure housing facilities for all to keep up with the rapid urbanization, reports BSS.

“We are implementing 34 projects. Of the total, 17 projects are for  developing plots while 17 are for constructing flats,” Supervising

Engineering of development and coordination division of NHA AQM Shahjalaal  Majumdar said yesterday.

With increased population growth, rapid urbanisation is taking place to meet the growing demand of people, he said the National Housing Authority is expanding its projects up to upazila level as people are moving to upazila and district level towns.

People are getting settled in urban areas due to various reasons including displacement caused by river bank erosion, livelihood related issue and the  need for modern lifestyle, he said, adding all these reasons increased the  demand of housing for

people.

Under the 17 projects, 2,780 plots will be allocated and 6,592 flats will be handed over to the people after completing construction.  The plot development and flat construction are being implemented in 18 districts --Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Barisal, Noakhali, Dinajpur, Gopalganj,  Jessore, Jhenaidah, Kushtia, Thakurgaon, Habiganj, Sunamganj, Bogra and Cox's Bazar.

The NHA sources said the government has taken massive initiative to ensure adequate accommodation facilities for all levels of people including people of low-income group and slum dwellers to make the city livable. In recent decades, the world has experienced unprecedented urban growth.  

In 2015, close to 4 billion people - 54 per cent of the world's population - lived in cities and that number is projected to increase to about 5 billion people by 2030.

Rapid urbanisation has brought enormous challenges, including growing numbers of slum dwellers, increased air pollution, inadequate basic services and infrastructure, and unplanned urban sprawl, which also make cities more vulnerable to disasters.

Better urban planning and management are needed to make the world's urban spaces more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

Currently, about 30 per cent people live in urban areas in the country.

If  the present trend continues, the rate of urban people will increase to 55 per cent in 2051.

EA