UNB, Dhaka:
Experts at a workshop here on Sunday underlined the importance of strictly following the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) to make all the establishments and heavy structures earthquake resistant.
The project for Capacity Development on Natural Disaster Resistant Techniques of Construction and Retrofitting for Public Buildings (CNCRP) in cooperation with Public Works Department (PWD) with technical support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) arranged the workshop, titled ‘Retrofitting of Vulnerable Buildings and Quality Construction of Buildings for Safer Cities’ at a city hotel.
Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain inaugurated the daylong workshop as the chief guest while Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhary Maya spoke as a special guest.
Housing and Public Works Secretary M Golam Rabbani, Japan Ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima and JICA Chief Representative in Bangladesh Mikio Hataeda also addressed the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said it is essential to retrofit the existing buildings and ensure the quality of new buildings to have a safer city. “We need to have a technically sound and safer city. But, it’ll take time,” he said adding that
any massive earthquake can damage the hopes of the nation.
He observed that the country faces the incidents of disaster-like massive building collapse as many of the stakeholders do not follow the prescribed building code strictly.
Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhary Maya said though Bangladesh is a role model in managing disasters but the capacity in this regard would have to be strengthened. He said, a better coordination among the related wings involved in disaster management could help drop the extent of damages of resources and losses of lives.
The Japanese envoy laid emphasis on sharing experiences in the areas of technology, which he thinks, will help Bangladesh handle disasters in a better way. During the workshop marking the completion of third year of the project (CNCRP), engineers shared learning and experiences on preparing inventory list of 3,000 public buildings, practicing various seismic assessment methods, and improving building construction quality.
The government took a strong initiative to ensure a safe working environment as concern grows over possible earthquake in Dhaka or other major cities in Bangladesh, particularly after the Rana Plaza incident.
Earlier, JICA signed a TK 1 crore worth MoU among Bangladesh Bank, BGMEA, BKMEA and PWD.
Under the agreement, the officials said the PWD has conducted a preliminary seismic assessment, and will conduct in-depth assessments and start the retrofitting works for RMG factories based on the BNBC.
Experts at a workshop here on Sunday underlined the importance of strictly following the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) to make all the establishments and heavy structures earthquake resistant.
The project for Capacity Development on Natural Disaster Resistant Techniques of Construction and Retrofitting for Public Buildings (CNCRP) in cooperation with Public Works Department (PWD) with technical support from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) arranged the workshop, titled ‘Retrofitting of Vulnerable Buildings and Quality Construction of Buildings for Safer Cities’ at a city hotel.
Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain inaugurated the daylong workshop as the chief guest while Disaster Management Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhary Maya spoke as a special guest.
Housing and Public Works Secretary M Golam Rabbani, Japan Ambassador in Dhaka Shiro Sadoshima and JICA Chief Representative in Bangladesh Mikio Hataeda also addressed the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said it is essential to retrofit the existing buildings and ensure the quality of new buildings to have a safer city. “We need to have a technically sound and safer city. But, it’ll take time,” he said adding that
any massive earthquake can damage the hopes of the nation.
He observed that the country faces the incidents of disaster-like massive building collapse as many of the stakeholders do not follow the prescribed building code strictly.
Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhary Maya said though Bangladesh is a role model in managing disasters but the capacity in this regard would have to be strengthened. He said, a better coordination among the related wings involved in disaster management could help drop the extent of damages of resources and losses of lives.
The Japanese envoy laid emphasis on sharing experiences in the areas of technology, which he thinks, will help Bangladesh handle disasters in a better way. During the workshop marking the completion of third year of the project (CNCRP), engineers shared learning and experiences on preparing inventory list of 3,000 public buildings, practicing various seismic assessment methods, and improving building construction quality.
The government took a strong initiative to ensure a safe working environment as concern grows over possible earthquake in Dhaka or other major cities in Bangladesh, particularly after the Rana Plaza incident.
Earlier, JICA signed a TK 1 crore worth MoU among Bangladesh Bank, BGMEA, BKMEA and PWD.
Under the agreement, the officials said the PWD has conducted a preliminary seismic assessment, and will conduct in-depth assessments and start the retrofitting works for RMG factories based on the BNBC.
