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A study of high-rise building construction practice in Bangladesh

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DOI: 10.1063/5.0129813

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RESEARCH ARTICLE | APRIL 28 2023

A study of high-rise building construction practice in

Bangladesh
Ovirup Basak Dipta  ; Md. Munna Hassan; Mehedi Hasan

AIP Conference Proceedings 2713, 020013 (2023)

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0129813

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 A Study of High-rise Building Construction Practice in
Bangladesh
Ovirup Basak Dipta1, a), Md. Munna Hassan2, and Mehedi Hasan3
1,2,3
Department of Building Engineering & Construction Management, Rajshahi University of Engineering &
Technology, Bangladesh

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a)
Corresponding Author: ovirup96@gmail.com

Abstract. High-rise buildings are an outcome of the present time and are intended to be momentary solutions to issues that
have arisen as a result of population expansion. Bangladesh, for example, has been a regional hub for new high-rise
construction in recent years. Land is scarce and prohibitively costly, particularly in Bangladesh's major cities like Dhaka.
Because horizontal development is now so difficult to maneuver, the population density in these nations pushed society to
decide to build additional high-rise buildings. High-rise buildings have now taken a step ahead in addressing the high-
density population's housing dilemma. In this paper, GIS software was utilized to show graphical data sets of completed
high-rise buildings in Bangladesh with respect to population density to alleviate the overcrowding problem. With the
increasing rate of urbanization, high-rise building construction is mostly used for vertical construction and open space
design. The object of this paper is to depict the current circumstances, as well as the absence of and centered growth of
high-rise buildings in Bangladesh. That’s why, a comprehensive survey form was created and sent to collect responses
from relevant individuals in this sector, such as engineers, architects, contractors, suppliers, and residents. The information
was gathered by questionnaire survey and then analyzed using SPSS software to express a real-time picture of the prospects
and circumstances for high-rise building construction in Bangladesh. The overall visualization of the present state of high-
rise buildings in Bangladesh aids analysts and planners in developing a better plan for future development, as well as
improving commercial sectors. With the progressing construction market, there also should be some provision of
construction safety onsite to avoid accidents due to ill supervision and management. The findings we extract from the
analysis done in this paper are to accumulate the BNBC Code of building construction and proper planning so that we can
ensure both the safety and progress of the high-rise building construction industry. The comparative data analysis reveals
a link between Bangladesh's current situation and future demands for high-rise buildings development.

INTRODUCTION

Bangladesh is a developing and densely populated country in the present world and her current population is 164.7
million as of 2020 (Worldometer). In fact, our population makes up 2.11% of the global population, and we are ranked
eighth among countries (including dependent territories) in terms of population (Worldometer). Now, the density of
population is 1,265 people per square kilometer in this Country (Worldometer). Bangladesh's density of population is
so higher than other countries in South Asia and maximum people here depend on agriculture as an occupation. The
current rate of urbanization in developing nations is substantially higher than in industrialized developed countries.
Bangladesh is the growing economy of South Asia and the urbanization rate here is way high, in the major cities like
Dhaka, Chattogram. Slum-dwellers on one side and well-to-do urban elites on the other may lead to heightened social
and political instability in Dhaka. Bangladesh's population, like that of many other Asian developing countries, is
migrating to cities in pursuit of work possibilities outside of agriculture, such as in industrial businesses or the service
sector. For the first time in history, low-income nations like Bangladesh saw a historical transformation over the
decade 2000-2010, with urban populations expanding faster than rural populations. According to the most recent
statistics study, 16% of the impoverished were owners, 56% were renters, 8% were rent-free inhabitants, and almost
20% were squatters or illegal residents (Islam, 2018). Dhaka's low ownership rates compare badly to comparable
Indian cities such as Delhi (47%) and Mumbai (59%), as well as cities in other areas such as the Middle East and

6th International Conference on Civil Engineering for Sustainable Development (ICCESD 2022)
AIP Conf. Proc. 2713, 020013-1–020013-7; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0129813
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-4445-4/$30.00

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North Africa. Even for the impoverished, homeownership is the prevailing status in these communities. Dhaka's
housing crisis is caused by excessive land prices. Land costs in Dhaka are equivalent to those in New York or London
suburbs. Most other residential neighborhoods in Dhaka, including the outskirts, have comparable high prices.
However, if a suitable growth and residential plan are implemented, this can result in a well-planned housing facility
and will also lessen the strain from acquiring the agricultural land for housing usage purposes (Helal uz Zaman et al.,
2010). Given the land crisis, there is no alternative to high-rise buildings for housing so many people. High-rise
buildings in our country are not a new concept now at all. According to the Bangladesh National Building Code
(BNBC) 2020, high-rise buildings are defined as any building which is more than 10-storey or 33m high from
reference datum. High-rise buildings range in height from 35 to 100 meters, or 12 to 39 stories. Buildings over 300m
are defined as tall building and over 600m is called supertall building. As a result, horizontal extension is no longer
viable, resulting in the concept of vertical construction as a high-rise skyscraper in this country (Ahsan T, 2016).
Residential, office, market, mixed-use, and other uses need high-rise construction. Another very important reason to
intensify the high-rise building construction is because of the increasing land price in our country (Alam J., 2018). In
the divisional cities, we need more 20-story high-rise buildings given the importance of the urbanization rate and
modern urbane facilities in our life. There are several reasons to invest in a high-rise construction project. The

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following are some of them (Farouk, 2011):
▪ Rapid population expansion in metropolitan areas, putting ongoing pressure on resources.
▪ The limited land space has an impact on the development of buildings.
▪ Exorbitant land prices.
▪ Random growth in big cities near agricultural land is prohibited.
▪ The expensive expense of establishing new city infrastructure.
▪ A symbol of civilization and development.
The goal of this study is to illustrate the existing situation in Bangladesh, as well as the lack of and centralized
expansion of high-rise buildings. Throughout the study, we have also tried to focus on the high-rise buildings’
construction site environment. The safety and security of the workers, inhabitants are one of the major issues to be
dealt with in the process of planning and executing any high-rise building project (Li G.Q. et al, 2018). In the
construction of high-rise buildings, we also have some consideration for fire-fighting and fire safety (Uddin et al,
2017). So, it can be clear that a high-rise building system is an application of the science of the present which is very
simple, safe, and useful (The Financial Express, 2017). Tall buildings have many advantages that help us to make our
lives more dynamic that is also expressed in this study. The major objectives of this study are as follows:
▪ To examine the current scenario and trend of high-rise building construction in Bangladesh
▪ To show the need for high-rise buildings in big cities to tackle the rapid urbanization
▪ To make policy recommendations

STUDY AREA

The study area we covered for this holistic study on high-rise building construction practice is all over Bangladesh.
Our country is a land of 148,460 km 2 and it has a population of 164.7 million (Bangladesh - Wikipedia, n.d.).
Currently, there are over 800 constructed high-rise buildings in our country of which less than 40% are used for
residential purposes only (List of Tallest Buildings in Dhaka - Wikipedia, n.d.). But the degree of constructed high-
rise buildings in Bangladesh is moderately high in the urban areas, like in the major cities as Dhaka. Most of the
existing high-rise buildings are constructed in the major cities whereas the urbanization rate should be dissipated
throughout the country equally. All the other major cities like Chattogram, Bogura, Kushtia, and Sylhet are also
becoming the hub of new high-rise buildings. Based on the currently constructed high-rise buildings in Bangladesh
we have developed a location map using the ArcGIS software. The location map also deduces the inequality and
unplanned high-rise building construction practice in Bangladesh as the BNBC codes are not following accordingly
in the construction of these high-rise buildings. Depending on the population matrix and the number of constructed
high-rise buildings we see from the map it is evident that we’re still lagging to counter the high urbanization rate and
mitigate the population density problem in our country. The location map is shown on the next page as FIGURE 1.
Location map of high-rise buildings in Bangladesh.

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FIGURE 1. Location map of high-rise buildings in Bangladesh

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

To obtain the preliminary data of the real scenario of the high-rise building construction practice in Bangladesh,
we have apprehended two methods to analyze. The first method was to assimilate a map based on the location of high-
rise buildings across Bangladesh. The map was created using The Arc GIS 10.3 software. In the process of analyzing
the data of Bangladesh, we have shown the density of constructed high-rise buildings in our country. For the second
method, questionnaires were surveyed based on the condition of high-rise buildings in Bangladesh. The information
from the surveyed questionnaires was processed and analyzed using the IBM SPSS 26 software. The online
questionnaire survey was done between March-April 2021 by circulating Google Forms. After the thorough analyses
have been completed the obtained results have been prepared in a descriptive way to present in an easier way to
understand. For that vivid data, tables were formed to present the results and also generated some pie charts to replicate
some suggested solutions.

DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTS

Data Analysis

To represent an overall image of the high-rise building industry in Bangladesh an online survey form was circulated
to 100 people from different fields of profession. The respondents were at different places in Bangladesh representing
their locality and area-based response. The data collected from the survey questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS

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software in form of such as frequency analysis and descriptive analysis. The assessment of the stated factors varies to
different impact scales like:
Types of Buildings – 1= High-rise, 2= Conventional; Location – 1= Urban Areas, 2= Rural Areas; Number of
Storey – 1= <20, 2= 20-30, 3= >30; Types of High-rise Buildings – 1= Residential, 2= Commercial, 3= Mixed;
Condition of Maintaining BNBC Code – 1= Good, 2= Satisfactory, 3= Bad; Effective Usage of Acquired Land – 1=
Highly Efficient, 2= Moderately Efficient, 3= Low Efficient; Solution of Accommodation Problem – 1= Insufficient,
2= Moderately Sufficient, 3= Highly Efficient; Accident Rates During Construction – 1= High, 2= Medium, 3= Low;
Safety Provided During Construction – 1= High, 2= Medium, 3= Low; Security and Surveillance Condition – 1= Yes,
2= Not Sure, 3= No.
The results are shown in Tables 1 & 2.

TABLE 1. Statistical Frequency Analysis of Questionnaire Survey Data

Table 1(a): Type of buildings mostly constructed in Bangladesh
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid High-rise 17 17.0 17.0 17.0

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Conventional 83 83.0 83.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Table 1(b): Location of high-rise building construction in Bangladesh

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Urban Areas 99 99.0 99.0 99.0
Rural Areas 1 1.0 1.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Table 1(c): Storey of the mostly constructed high-rise building

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid <20 72 72.0 72.0 72.0
20-30 24 24.0 24.0 96.0
>30 4 4.0 4.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Table 1(d): Types of high-rise buildings constructed in Bangladesh

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Residential 12 12.0 12.0 12.0
Commercial 31 31.0 31.0 43.0
Mixed 57 57.0 57.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Table 1(e): The condition of maintaining BNBC code in the construction of high-rise buildings
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Good 19 19.0 19.0 19.0
Satisfactory 46 46.0 46.0 65.0
Bad 35 35.0 35.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Table 1(f): Efficiency of the usage of the acquired land for construction of high-rise buildings in Bangladesh
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Highly Efficient 25 25.0 25.0 25.0
Moderately Efficient 58 58.0 58.0 83.0
Low Efficient 17 17.0 17.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

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 Table 1(g): Solution of accommodation problem by high-rise building construction for the high density of population
in Bangladesh
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Insufficient 25 25.0 25.0 25.0

Moderately Sufficient 47 47.0 47.0 72.0
Highly Sufficient 28 28.0 28.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Table 1(h): Occurrence of accidents during construction of high-rise buildings

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid High 47 47.0 47.0 47.0
Medium 41 41.0 41.0 88.0
Low 12 12.0 12.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

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Table 1(i): Safety provided at the high-rise building construction site
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid High 10 10.0 10.0 10.0
Medium 46 46.0 46.0 56.0
Low 44 44.0 44.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

Table 1(j): Security and surveillance of high-rise building facility compare to conventional building
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Yes 41 41.0 41.0 41.0
Not Sure 47 47.0 47.0 88.0
No 12 12.0 12.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0

TABLE 2. Statistical Descriptive Analysis of Questionnaire Survey Data

Survey Factors N Range Mean Std. Deviation Variance
Types of Buildings 100 1 1.83 .378 .143
Location 100 1 1.01 .100 .010
Number of Storey 100 2 1.32 .548 .301
Types of High-rise Buildings 100 2 2.45 .702 .492
Condition of Maintaining BNBC Code 100 2 2.16 .721 .520
Effective Usage of Acquired Land 100 2 1.92 .646 .418
Solution of Accommodation Problem 100 2 2.03 .731 .534
Accident Rates During Construction 100 2 1.65 .687 .472
Safety Provided During Construction 100 2 2.34 .655 .429
Security and Surveillance Condition 100 2 1.71 .671 .450

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

The results of the survey data analysis have been presented here along with the discussion on respondents’
summary results. Maximum respondents have selected the types of high-rise buildings constructed (mean value =
2.45) as the most important factor to consider for the large-scale development of our country’s high-rise building
industry. As the high-rise buildings should be constructed for residential purposes to accommodate the increasing
urban population but the maximum high-rise buildings are constructed serving as commercial or somewhat as mixed
type. From the mean value pile, the safety provided at the construction site (mean value = 2.34) comes second in terms
of consideration to take while constructing new high-rise buildings. Site safety is a major issue and fact of concern to

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modern-day construction in our country especially, as several accidents occur over the year around the country due to
lack of safety provisions. Condition of maintaining BNBC code (mean value = 2.16) comes as the third and solution
of accommodation problem due to over-population (mean value = 2.03) comes as a fourth influential factor to consider
during high-rise building construction in Bangladesh. Maintaining the BNBC code should be the topmost priority and
also should be monitored strictly all over the country throughout the years. In this way, effective usage of land acquired
(mean value = 1.92), security and surveillance condition in high-rise buildings compared to traditional low-rise
buildings (mean value = 1.71), accident rates during construction (mean value = 1.65), number of stories (mean value
= 1.32) comes fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively in terms of consideration to make the construction of new
high-rise buildings (TABLE 2. Statistical Descriptive Analysis of Questionnaire Survey Data).

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FIGURE 2. Types of high-rise buildings FIGURE 3. Safety provided at the construction site

FIGURE 4. Condition of maintaining BNBC code FIGURE 5. Solution of accommodation problem

From the above pie charts, the image is clearer about the survey respondents’ thoughts about new high-rise
buildings construction in Bangladesh. About 57% of respondents consider the type of high-rise buildings constructed
in our country is a major issue to rethink about the planning for new construction (FIGURE 2. Types of high-rise
buildings). About 48% consider the condition of maintaining BNBC code and solution of accommodation problem
through the construction of high-rise buildings is a matter of concern to deal with (FIGURE 4. Condition of
maintaining BNBC code; FIGURE 5. Solution of accommodation problem). And safety provision during construction
of these high-rise buildings throughout the country is also regarded as a key factor to consider during planning &
construction by 47% of participants (FIGURE 3. Safety provided at the construction site).

CONCLUSION

Despite all of the concerns, high-rise buildings are being built in significant numbers in our country. This also
reflects our country's rising economy, which has been hampered for a long time by huge setbacks and actual
constraints. In our densely crowded country, it is now unavoidable to enforce certain severe laws and regulations to
ensure the optimum use of land. For those reasons, we need to put some serious efforts to make up a concrete idea and
specific set of goals to meet the challenges of the overpopulation problem in our country. As a dependable agrarian
country, we must assure the preservation of open cultivated land for farming as well as the economic usage of available
land for the construction of high-rise buildings to accommodate the growing urban population. From the above-

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 discussed questionnaire survey data and location mapping of existing high-rise buildings, it is now evident what to do
to structure the future model of the high-rise building construction industry in Bangladesh.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors are indebted to the participants who took part in the questionnaire survey. We also recognize the
sincere contribution to this paper through generating the location map using The Arc GIS software which was made
by Md. Mahmudul Hasan Limon, Undergraduate Student, Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Pabna
University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh.

REFERENCES

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