Ensure proper use of scarce land in development plans: Salman F Rahman

Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman has emphasised on ensuring proper utilisation of the country's scarce land while formulating any development plan.

There is a need for protection of the agriculture land keeping the country's development goals in vision, he told the inaugural ceremony of a three-day international conference on 'Urban and Regional Planning (ICURP 2023)' at a city hotel on Saturday.

"Every development plan involving land use should be well-planned as Bangladesh is a land-scarce country," he said, addressing the event as chief guest.

Mr Rahman said the government has been developing the economic zones (EZ) for planned industrialisation, and emphasised on conservation of environment and innovative technologies for the sake of saving nature.

Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) organised the conference with the theme 'Spatial Planning for Sustainable Development: Achieving National and Global Goals', with BIP President Fazle Reza Sumon in the chair.

Head of German Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Dhaka Florian Hoellen and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN?Habitat) Maimunah Mohd Sharif were present as special guests.

BIP General Secretary Shaikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan presented a keynote paper, saying there are a number of local and international development goals like SDGs and Sendai Frameworks which need to be properly integrated to make them purposeful.

Bangladesh is a country of limited land with frequent natural disasters requiring special attention for development programmes, he said.

"If we don't use the land properly, we would struggle to provide food and other facilities to our people," he added.

Discussions, roundtables and plenary sessions will be held on a wide range of topics regarding urban planning before the conclusion of the conference on Monday.

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