UNB, Dhaka :
Japanese experts on Sunday observed that the important buildings in Bangladesh which are vulnerable to earthquake should be retrofitted to make those tremor-resistant.
Retrofitting is a technology that could be used to make a vulnerable building earthquake resistant without demolishing it.
“There is a notion that retrofitting is very expensive and it is not viable for economy like Bangladesh. But it is totally wrong. Usually it only costs 10-30 percent of new construction,” said Fumio Kaneko, leader of JICA expert team working here for transferring retrofitting technology from Japan to Bangladesh.
The JICA expert team leader made the remark on Sunday, a day before the International Day for Disaster Reduction to be observed across the country as elsewhere around the globe on Monday.
A team of Japanese experts have been transferring the retrofitting technology here through imparting training to local engineers
under a project, titled ‘Capacity Development on Natural Disaster-Resistant Technique of Construction and Retrofitting for Public Buildings (CNCRP)’.
The project is being implemented by the Public Works Department (PWD) with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), says a press release from JICA office in Dhaka.
Kaneko said, Bangladesh is at a high risk of earthquake as the country has not experienced any major tremor since the 19th century and most of the buildings in Bangladesh are works of masonry that increases the risk further.
“The Rana Plaza tragedy was indeed a wake-up call for us. It is calculated that even reinforced concrete (RC) buildings are 3-5 times more vulnerable to the buildings in Japan,” he said.
The JICA team leader said there are many options including complying Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), improving existing building condition and raising awareness among people to turn the current situation to a better one.
“While we promote the BNBC to take its root in Bangladesh, another option we can take is to retrofit the existing important buildings,” he said.
Under the CNCRP project, which began in March 2011 and will end in February 2015, the PWD has sent local engineers to Japan to get expert training on retrofitting technology.
Given extensive training on design, construction and seismic resilience to apply retrofitting technology to structures, these engineers made a pool of experts, Kaneko said adding that after three years of training, Bangladesh engineers raised their skill and now they are teaching other fellow engineers.
The local engineers, with the support of Japanese experts, have started working to retrofit the fire stations to turn the important public buildings into earthquake-resistant structures within a few months.
Japanese experts on Sunday observed that the important buildings in Bangladesh which are vulnerable to earthquake should be retrofitted to make those tremor-resistant.
Retrofitting is a technology that could be used to make a vulnerable building earthquake resistant without demolishing it.
“There is a notion that retrofitting is very expensive and it is not viable for economy like Bangladesh. But it is totally wrong. Usually it only costs 10-30 percent of new construction,” said Fumio Kaneko, leader of JICA expert team working here for transferring retrofitting technology from Japan to Bangladesh.
The JICA expert team leader made the remark on Sunday, a day before the International Day for Disaster Reduction to be observed across the country as elsewhere around the globe on Monday.
A team of Japanese experts have been transferring the retrofitting technology here through imparting training to local engineers
under a project, titled ‘Capacity Development on Natural Disaster-Resistant Technique of Construction and Retrofitting for Public Buildings (CNCRP)’.
The project is being implemented by the Public Works Department (PWD) with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), says a press release from JICA office in Dhaka.
Kaneko said, Bangladesh is at a high risk of earthquake as the country has not experienced any major tremor since the 19th century and most of the buildings in Bangladesh are works of masonry that increases the risk further.
“The Rana Plaza tragedy was indeed a wake-up call for us. It is calculated that even reinforced concrete (RC) buildings are 3-5 times more vulnerable to the buildings in Japan,” he said.
The JICA team leader said there are many options including complying Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), improving existing building condition and raising awareness among people to turn the current situation to a better one.
“While we promote the BNBC to take its root in Bangladesh, another option we can take is to retrofit the existing important buildings,” he said.
Under the CNCRP project, which began in March 2011 and will end in February 2015, the PWD has sent local engineers to Japan to get expert training on retrofitting technology.
Given extensive training on design, construction and seismic resilience to apply retrofitting technology to structures, these engineers made a pool of experts, Kaneko said adding that after three years of training, Bangladesh engineers raised their skill and now they are teaching other fellow engineers.
The local engineers, with the support of Japanese experts, have started working to retrofit the fire stations to turn the important public buildings into earthquake-resistant structures within a few months.
