Dealing with Construction Permits in
Bangladesh
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
BDT 16,800,000
- City: Dhaka
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain cadastral survey map from Land Records Department
Agency: Land Records Department
|
3 days
|
USD 25
|
| 2 |
Obtain zoning clearance
To obtain clearance, BuildCo must present proof of land ownership and the cadastral maps showing the exact site location. Anticorruption drive of the interim government of Bangladesh stemmed from massive violations of building regulations on one hand and collapse of buildings with casualties on the other hand impacted on the work of some areas of construction regulation. Obtaining zoning clearance before would take on average 2-3 months if no bribes paid, while by law it should be only 15 days. The Building Committee’s drive is to make this procedure come as close to the official time-limit made this procedure possible to be completed in 45 days.
|
45 days
|
no charge
|
| 3 |
Obtain project clearance from the local authority (Ward Commissioner, Dhaka City Corporation)
To obtain the local authority’s approval, BuildCo must submit an application with the proposed design plans. The approval may take anywhere from 3 to 7 days.
Agency: Dhaka City Corporation
|
3 days
|
no charge
|
| 4 |
Obtain project clearance from the Environment Department of Rajuk
The Environment Department of Rajuk issues three types of clearance, based on the type of establishment green (nonpolluting), orange (low polluting), and red (high polluting). For the green category, the environmental clearance is issued for a fee of USD 25. If unofficial payments are made, environmental clearance can be obtained in a week. For other categories, the cost and time to get clearance are higher.
To obtain project clearance, the following documents are required, depending on the environmental category:
- Approval from the Ward Commissioner, Dhaka City Corporation.
- Project profile, feasibility report, and drawings.
- Land ownership documents.
- Cadastral survey map and location map.
- Trade license (copy).
- Registration of the Board of Investment (copy).
- EIA/ IEE/ EMP Report.
- Fees payable to DOE.
Total project cost Fees (USD) Renewal fees
USD 0–0.08 million USD 25 USD 5
USD 0.08 million–0.16 million USD 50 USD 12
USD 0.16 million–0.8 million USD 80 USD 20
USD 0.8 million–1.6 million USD 160 USD 40
USD 1.6 million–32 million USD 400 USD125
USD 32 million–80 million USD 800 USD250
USD 80-million and above USD1,600 USD 400
Agency: Environment Department of Rajuk
|
30 days
|
USD 80
|
| 5 |
Obtain project clearance and building permit from the City Development Authority (RAJUK)
The approving panel of the City Development Authority (RAJUK) meets weekly to discuss cases. In early 2007, officials in the Ministry of Works imposed a 30-day time limit on the process. As of August 2007 under the new Building regulation the RAJUK introduced a single window approach to procedures related to obtaining a building permit. However applicants have to still visit each agency responsible for different parts of construction approval separately due to inconsistencies in legislation. Fire Department raised its disagreement with RAJUK on building that do not require fire clearance. According to government regulation buildings higher 10 floors are subject to the clearance, however Fire Department uses the old regulations by which anything above 6 floors is subject to their supervision.
Each agency that provides approval is given 7 day time-limit, which is still not complied with. Before building permit is issued the authorized officers have to visit the site to ascertain its location according to the drawings and maps. However with only a handful of officers and massive number of applications this becomes impossible to comply with an original 30 day time limit that government set. The procedure still takes on average 3-5 month.
Agency: City Development Authority (RAJUK)
|
105 days
|
BDT 30,000
|
| 6 |
Receive excavation inspection
Due to lack of sufficient manpower of the authority, it takes more than a week to visit site.
Agency: City Development Authority (RAJUK)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 7 |
Receive foundation inspection
Due to lack of sufficient manpower of the authority, it takes more than a week to visit site.
Agency: City Development Authority (RAJUK)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 8 |
Tax inspector from Dhaka City Corporation inspects the completed warehouse
A tax inspector from the Dhaka City Corporation visits the site to assess the completed building (1 day, no appointment or fee). From then on, the tax authority will send the annual tax bill which will arrive 30 days later.
Agency: Dhaka City Corporation
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 9 |
Request telephone connection
The time usually depends on the availability of lines in the construction area. Mobile telephone connections may be obtained within a day. But it takes about 30 days to receive a fixed telephone connection from the Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board.
Agency: Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board
|
1 day
|
USD 50
|
| * 10 |
Telephone inspector makes the connection
Agency: Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board
|
7 days
|
no charge
|
| * 11 |
Obtain water and sewerage connection
Agency: Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA)
|
10 days
|
BDT 30,000
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.