The government has approved a plan to establish the Savar City Corporation by merging the Savar municipality with Ashulia in an effort to strengthen urban governance and improve civic services in the rapidly expanding industrial belt on the outskirts of Dhaka.
Under the same plan, the Keraniganj municipality will be upgraded to a Class 鈥楢鈥� municipality or brought under the jurisdiction of the Dhaka South City Corporation.
The Cabinet Division鈥檚 field administration coordination department issued a notification in this connection on Tuesday following approval of the plan by chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus.
The proposal was initially discussed at a deputy commissioners鈥� conference in September before being forwarded to the chief adviser for final approval, Cabinet Division officials said.
According to the proposal, unplanned urbanisation at Keraniganj 鈥� driven by Dhaka鈥檚 population growth and industrial expansion 鈥� has placed increasing strain on basic services, including roads, drainage, water supply, waste management and healthcare, in the area.
It observed that the absence of a structured municipal administration had hindered planned urban development there.
It added that with effective urban planning and institutional reform, Keraniganj could be transformed into a modern satellite town adjacent to the capital.
Savar, meanwhile, has developed into a major industrial and educational hub hosting dense clusters of garment factories, universities, businesses and housing areas.
However, local officials said that the Savar municipality with its limited capacity had failed to keep pace with rising demands for infrastructure, sanitation and traffic management.
The Ashulia union, a nearby industrial zone, lacks the institutional capacity to manage urban-scale services such as waste collection, education, public health and environmental protection.
The chief adviser has instructed the Local Government Division to take necessary steps for the formation of the new city corporation and report progress on the issue to the Cabinet Division.
