DHAKA: Systematic retrofitting construction work by Public Works Department (PWD) started at Tejgaon Fire Station building for the first time in the country.

Local engineers, with the support of Japanese experts have started working to retrofit the fire station to turn the important public building into an earthquake resistant structure.

The initiative was taken under ‘The project for Capacity Development on Natural Disaster Resistant Techniques of Construction and Retrofitting for Public Buildings (CNCRP)’, implemented by Public Works Department (PWD) with the technical support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), says a press release.

PWD Dhaka Division-3 is executing the retrofit construction work.

Additional Chief Engineer, PWD and Project Director of CNCRP Abdul Malek Sikder said considering vulnerability of Bangladesh towards earthquake, Japan, master of retrofitting technology, is transferring it to Bangladesh under CNCRP project.

He also said, “In the context of Dhaka where many of the buildings are vulnerable to earthquake, the retrofitting technology is the way to make the capital earthquake resistant. The fire stations and hospitals are extremely important in any kinds of disaster management, and must be functional for conducting post disaster rescues.”

“Retrofitting is a technology that could be used to make a vulnerable building earthquake resistant without demolishing it and usually it costs 30 to 40 percent of the new construction cost of the targeted building,” he said.

The release also said, “During the four-year CNCRP project (from 2011 to 2015), in last three years, the local engineers have been imparted training on different techniques of retrofitting technology from a team of JICA experts. As the project is in its last year, the Japanese experts and PWD engineers has decided to retrofit the Tejgaon fire station to make an example.”

The project has chosen a vulnerable fire station to be retrofitted as pilot basis. 

After the project, the PWD is planning to take a project to retrofit more of such vulnerable public buildings in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet phase by phase, the release added.

Emergency responding buildings like fire stations, hospitals and important government administrative buildings will be retrofitted on priority basis.

BDST: 1925 HRS, SEP 17, 2014