UNB, Dhaka :
Realtors here on Thursday demanded bank loan interest waiver and their refinancing at a single digit interest rate claiming that the ongoing political unrest has caused a loss of about Tk 1,656 crore to their housing sector in the last 46 days.
“Before the housing sector could have minimised the losses caused by political violence over the 10th national election, it has run into another trouble due to the ongoing nonstop political shutdown,” president of Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) Alamgir Shamsul Alamin told a press conference at a city hotel.
He about Tk 25,000 crore has so far been invested in the housing sector while about 40 lakh workers are directly involved in the country’s second largest sector after agriculture.
“Apart from the workers’ lives and livelihood, the investment is at risk in the sector due to the ongoing hartal and blockade programmes,” Alamgir added.
If the political unrest continues, he said, the housing sector crisis will deepen further and retracement of workers will be on the rise.
The REHAB president said most of the developers have taken their housing projects with bank loans at high interest rates and many of them are now turning defaulters as they are unable to repay their loans due to poor business in the sector.
Alamgir urged the government to reschedule their loans for two years by giving them interest waiver and refinance the realtors at single digit inertest rate.
If the political situation does not improve, he said, the businesspeople of some 200 linkage industries of the housing sector will count a huge loss putting them into a severe trouble.
Aiming to restore business-friendly atmosphere in the country, Alamgir urged the political parties to shun their violent activities and resolve the ongoing crisis though talks.
REHAB vice president Liakat Ali Bhuiyan, general secretary M Wahiduzzaman, vice president of Bangladesh Painters Manufacturers Association Engr Abdur Rahman, vice president of Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association M Alamgir Kabir and secretary general of Bangladesh Land Developers Association Mustafa Kamal Mohiuddin, among others, spoke at the press conference.
Realtors here on Thursday demanded bank loan interest waiver and their refinancing at a single digit interest rate claiming that the ongoing political unrest has caused a loss of about Tk 1,656 crore to their housing sector in the last 46 days.
“Before the housing sector could have minimised the losses caused by political violence over the 10th national election, it has run into another trouble due to the ongoing nonstop political shutdown,” president of Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) Alamgir Shamsul Alamin told a press conference at a city hotel.
He about Tk 25,000 crore has so far been invested in the housing sector while about 40 lakh workers are directly involved in the country’s second largest sector after agriculture.
“Apart from the workers’ lives and livelihood, the investment is at risk in the sector due to the ongoing hartal and blockade programmes,” Alamgir added.
If the political unrest continues, he said, the housing sector crisis will deepen further and retracement of workers will be on the rise.
The REHAB president said most of the developers have taken their housing projects with bank loans at high interest rates and many of them are now turning defaulters as they are unable to repay their loans due to poor business in the sector.
Alamgir urged the government to reschedule their loans for two years by giving them interest waiver and refinance the realtors at single digit inertest rate.
If the political situation does not improve, he said, the businesspeople of some 200 linkage industries of the housing sector will count a huge loss putting them into a severe trouble.
Aiming to restore business-friendly atmosphere in the country, Alamgir urged the political parties to shun their violent activities and resolve the ongoing crisis though talks.
REHAB vice president Liakat Ali Bhuiyan, general secretary M Wahiduzzaman, vice president of Bangladesh Painters Manufacturers Association Engr Abdur Rahman, vice president of Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association M Alamgir Kabir and secretary general of Bangladesh Land Developers Association Mustafa Kamal Mohiuddin, among others, spoke at the press conference.
