To cater for the need for housing, the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) has started implementing a new project, Ananya Residential Area, in the city's Kulgaon area at a cost of around Tk 300 crore.
Under the project being implemented with CDA's own fund, a total of 1550 residential plots will be developed on 174 acres of land beside the Oxygen-Quaish Road.
A board meeting of the CDA on Monday approved the project and refixed the price of plots at Tk 6 lakh per katha and the deposit at Tk 4 lakh against each application.
Now the CDA will invite applications from interested persons through publishing advertisement in newspapers, sources in the CDA said.
One of the main features of the project -- the first one taken after the introduction of CDA Plot Allotment Policy 2005 -- is that 20 percent of the plots will be earmarked for expatriates. In previous housing projects, the CDA allocated some 8 percent of the plots for expatriates.
Ananya, the 9th housing project of the CDA, is the largest as far as the number of residential plots is concerned.
However, the CDA raised the price of each plot to Tk 6 lakh per katha following reassessment and review of the project. The price ranged between Tk 4 lakh and Tk 5 lakh in the Project Pro forma (PP) approved in February this year.
The review also led to the reduction in the number of residential plots from 1591 to 1550 as well as raising the price of plots in commercial and apartment blocks to Tk 10 lakh per katha as against Tk 8 lakh per katha proposed in the approved PP.
The price of plots for school and colleges remained unchanged at previously fixed Tk 9 lakh per katha.
According to sources, the CDA had to review implementation cost and other aspects of the project since the increase in land price raised the budget prepared back in May 2005.
In the PP, an approximate cost of Tk 284.61 crore was estimated for the project, but as per reassessment the cost would now exceed Tk 300 crore due to increase in the land price and inflation, they said.
The reassessment committee had proposed refixing the rate of residential plots at Tk 5 lakh and deposit at Tk 5 lakh for each application, sources said.
As per the approved project, the CDA is to develop commercial and apartment blocks on about 1265 katha or 29 acres. Of them, commercial blocks will be developed on about 426 katha to sell plots at Tk 8 lakh per katha and apartment blocks on about 838 katha to sell plots at Tk 9 lakh per katha.
Under the project, the CDA plans to develop residential plots on about 5702 katha or 94 acres of land.
And about 50 acres of land has been kept aside for roads and utilities purposes, said the sources.
On the land preserved for utilities, the CDA plans to develop shopping malls, community centres, kitchen markets, health centres, school and colleges, kindergartens, mosques, Eidgah and playgrounds.
Project Director Engineer Hasan Bin Sams said that as per re-assessment, the proposed budget would increase at least by Tk 16 crore due to the increase in land price and inflation.
The implementation cost would increase by Tk 13 crore only for acquisition of lands, he added.
"The reduction in the number of residential plots would help increase plots in apartment and commercial blocks as well as create an scope of making more room for roads and open spaces," he added.