ROLAND BUERK / DHAKA
The Bangladesh civil aviation authority CAAB has warned that the safety of aircraft making approaches to and departures from the international airport at Dhaka is being jeopardised by an uncontrolled building boom in the city. The CAAB has identified 66 high-rise buildings around Zia International airport that break height guidelines set down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation because developers are exceeding their planning permission.
In addition, there are hundreds more smaller unauthorised structures near the runway. The airport is used by major international airlines including British Airways, Emirates, Thai Airways International and the national carrier Biman Bangladesh.
Dhaka's Capital City Development Authority, known as RAJUK, is responsible for approving plans for new buildings and ensuring they are followed, but it has been unable to keep the developers in check, and many simply add on extra floors above the approved level, says the CAAB. In one case, a building that should have been 180m (590ft) tall actually rises to 520m. "It's basically the builders flouting the rules," says Shaikh Abul Basher, CAAB's deputy director in charge of aerodromes.
The CAAB is demanding RAJUK take action against the builders. But so far just two cases have been filed, and they are likely to take years to drag through the courts. With dozens of new buildings going up in the Gulshan and Banani areas to the south of the airport, the CAAB is calling for RAJUK to step up its enforcement procedures. "The planners need to be more vigilant," says Basher. "It's easier to stop a building in the first place than dismantle it."
Source: Flight International
