PM Vows Safe Housing and Planned Urban Development for All

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday pledged to ensure safe, affordable and sustainable housing for all citizens while promoting planned and decentralised urban development across Bangladesh.

“Liveable, affordable, environmentally friendly and safe housing with basic services for all, or universal housing, is a fundamental constitutional right of citizens. The government is firmly committed to ensuring and safeguarding this right,” he said.

The prime minister made the remarks at a discussion marking World Habitat Day 2026 at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka. The Ministry of Housing and Public Works organised the programme under the theme “Universal Housing, Sustainable Urbanisation.”

Tarique said ensuring planned urbanisation and adequate housing for low- and lower-middle-income people was one of the government’s major electoral commitments.

He said the government was preparing master plans for city corporations and districts nationwide to promote organised urban development.

According to Tarique, housing should not be considered merely a physical structure but as a complete living environment providing safe drinking water, reliable electricity, improved sanitation, public transport, efficient roads, education and healthcare, employment opportunities and a safe environment for a dignified life.

“It is now a necessity not only to provide housing for citizens but also to ensure that such housing is safe and sustainable,” he said.

The prime minister acknowledged that ensuring universal housing would be more challenging in densely populated Bangladesh than in developed countries.

“Yet, if we want to survive with dignity in a competitive world, we must move forward by facing every challenge and keeping pace with the rest of the world,” he said.

Pressure on cities

Tarique said population pressure was steadily rising in cities, towns and urban centres across Bangladesh, with Dhaka now “overpopulated” by any standard.

Other major cities were also experiencing similar pressure, he said, making universal housing and sustainable urbanisation increasingly important.

He acknowledged that implementing these goals would be more difficult than articulating them given the country’s existing realities, but said the government was taking steps to address the challenges.

Master plans and secondary townships

The government is seeking to ease pressure on urban centres by improving fast, affordable and safe connectivity between Dhaka, other cities and the rest of the country, Tarique said.

It is also working to improve civic facilities in rural areas so that better services outside major cities can help reduce urban migration.

Development in Bangladesh has historically been concentrated around Dhaka and a handful of major cities, he said. The government now aims to bring every region into the mainstream of national development through balanced and decentralised urban and regional development.

“Our goal is not to concentrate urban development in one particular place. Rather, we want balanced and decentralised urban and regional development so that development spreads across all areas,” he said.

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works is working on a nationwide planning initiative as well as plans for secondary townships around Dhaka, the prime minister said.

He said new development authorities had already been established in Sylhet, Mymensingh, Barishal, Cumilla, Rangpur and Narayanganj to support planned urbanisation.

Tarique expressed hope that the initiatives would help Bangladesh achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11, which promotes inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities.

“It will take time, but we will be able to achieve it gradually, InshaAllah,” he said.

Environment at centre of housing plans

Environmental protection is a key consideration in the government’s plans for liveable housing and sustainable urban development, Tarique said.

The government has set a target of planting 250 million trees across the country over the next five years.

He also stressed the need for effective waste management in Dhaka and other city corporations and districts, saying the government was working to properly manage the growing volume of waste generated by daily activities.

Population growth and rapid urbanisation have made efficient waste management increasingly important for environmental protection, he said.

Public-private cooperation needed

Tarique said tackling the urban housing crisis would be difficult for the government alone and called for greater participation from entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the housing sector.

Private-sector stakeholders could play an important role in providing affordable, safe and environmentally friendly housing with basic services, he said.

The government is also working on block-based housing schemes, area-based parks and playgrounds, and designated industrial zones as part of its broader urban planning efforts.

The prime minister expressed confidence that the government would gradually implement its plans and make safe housing for all a reality.

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo, Housing and Public Works Minister Zakaria Taher Sumon, State Minister for Housing and Public Works Ahmad Sohel Manzur, ministry secretary Md Obaidur Rahman and UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh Carol Flore-Smerecznia, among others, addressed the programme.

Before joining the event, Tarique planted a Swarna Champa on the conference centre premises. He later inaugurated a three-day housing fair at the venue, where organisations from the housing and construction sectors and agencies under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works are participating.

The prime minister visited several stalls at the fair and signed the visitors’ book.

World Habitat Day was also observed across Bangladesh through various programmes, including special discussions on television and radio, publication of a souvenir and the display of banners, posters and festoons at important locations.

Bangladesh and countries around the world have observed World Habitat Day since 1986.

A documentary on World Habitat Day 2026 was screened during the programme, while the prime minister also unveiled a souvenir marking the occasion.