Jica to help retrofit risky RMG factory buildings

The Japanese government has taken an initiative to retrofit Bangladesh's vulnerable garment factory buildings in order to make those jolt-resistant and safe for workers. 

Japanese experience and technology for making earthquake-resistant building can help Bangladesh avoid any tragic incident like Rana Plaza collapse, Senior Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Hiroyuki Tomita said at a seminar titled "Development of Safer Building : Overcoming the Tragedy of Rana Plaza Incident" in the capital yesterday.

The project, Capacity Development of Natural Disaster Resistant Techniques of Construction and Retrofitting for Public Buildings (CNCRP), is being implemented by Public Works Department (PWD) with technical support from Jica.

The Jica high official also said Japanese experts have already started retrofitting two RMG factory buildings and the Jica will soon implement a large project to work on more vulnerable buildings.

After Rana Plaza collapse, Jica undertook a programme titled "RMG Sector Safe Environment Project" and created a fund of Tk 100 crore along with Bangladesh Bank for financing RMG owners to make their buildings safe for the workers, said Jica's Assistant Programme Officer Kaniz Fatema.

Jica's Expert Team Leader Fumio Kaneko said there is a misconception that retrofitting is very expensive and it is not economically viable for countries like Bangladesh. It usually costs only 10-30 percent of new construction.

PWD Chief Engineer Md Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan and CNCRP Project Director Md Ahsan Habib spoke among others where JICA Expert Deputy Team Leader J Matsuo, Yuko Nakagawa of JET, Prof Y Nakano of Tokyo University, Prof M Maeda and Prof M Ubaura of Tohoku University , and former CNCRP PD Engineer M Sikder gave separate presentations.