Chattogram city mayor Bir Muktijoddha Rezaul Karim Chowdhury has inaugurated the construction work of the 'iconic' city building much desired by the people of Chattogram.
City Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury officially inaugurated this construction work with CCC's own funding at Andarkilla of the city on Monday (May 06) afternoon.
During the inauguration, the Mayor said that this iconic city building will be constructed by connecting the sites of two other neighboring buildings on the site of the old city building. The entire city building will have 21 floors with three basements. The first phase of this building was inaugurated today Our aim is to complete the 5-6 floors by next January-February and move from Tigerpass to Andarkilla as part of the first phase of work costing Tk. 28.80 crore. The rest will be done step by step
"Without a permanent city building, foreign visitors would actually be put in an embarrassing situation, and services to citizens would also be disrupted. For this reason, I have taken the initiative to build city buildings with my own funds. Citizens can take services in this building easily. Besides, a museum will be built to highlight the history and heritage of Chattogram on 1st floor of this building.
According to the sources of the engineering department of CCC, city building will be constructed on 38 thousand 490 square feet or 53.45 katha area. A consulting firm named Pranayan designed the building at 'Iconic'. There will be a city clock on top of the building. There will be landscaped gardens on three sides of the building. A fountain will be built. There will be a multipurpose hall, conference hall and banquet hall. However, the entire city building will be constructed step by step. Initially, three floors including the basement will be constructed.
The opening ceremony was attended by - Panel Mayor Gias Uddin, Councilor Zahar Lal Hazari, Hasan Murad Biplab, Shaibal Das Sumon, Md. Elias, Md. Abdus Salam Masum, Ataullah Chowdhury, Rumki Sengupta, Mayor's Private Secretary Abul Hashem, Chief Engineer Shaheen-ul Islam Chowdhury, Superintendent Engineer Akbar Ali, Farhadul Alam, Jasim Uddin, Regional Executive Officer and Estate Officer. Rezaul Karim, Executive Engineer Farzana Mukta, Rezaul Bari Bhuiyan, Mirza Fazlul Quader, Ashiqul Islam, Rifatul Karim, Tasmia Tahsin, Tauhidul Islam, Salma Khatun, Assistant Engineer Asir Hamim.
It is to be noted that on March 11, 2010, the then Mayor of Chattalabir ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury laid the foundation stone of the city building. After that, two mayors and an administrator served in Chattogram City Corporation (CHSIC), but the initiative was stalled due to various complications including financial crisis, lack of approval from the ministry.