The apparel trade group has initiated a process of allotting space at its under-construction building at Uttara for its existing space owners on a priority basis.The current headquarters of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association at Hatirjheel should be demolished in a year as ordered by the High Court.As part the process, the BGMEA on March 22 last in a letter sought applications from its existing 40 space owners for booking their required space.”…BGMEA Board, we are offering for allotment of floor space first to you as you are one of the allottees of the existing building,” said the BGMEA letter.It has requested applications with 20 per cent of its total space prices as booking money, according to the letter.Until now, some 8-10 have applied for space in the proposed 15- storey complex including two basements, a BGMEA official said.When asked, BGMEA president Siddiqur Rahman said after completion of the new complex, compensation would be given to those who would not shift there in line with the court directive.The BGMEA will also seek applications from other interested parties shortly, he added.He, however, did not elaborate on the compensation.The association sold 0.125 million out of the 0.266 million square feet of floor space in the 15-storey building to different establishments, including Dhaka Bank Ltd, Exim Bank Bangladesh Ltd and 38 apparel manufacturing companies.All the 40 space buyers own apparel factories, two of them bought spaces for their banks, people familiar with the situation said.None of them could get their spaces registered as the BGMEA did not own the land on which its building stood, they said.A good number of the existing space owners are willing to shift their business offices elsewhere, they added.In 2011, the High Court ordered demolition of the 15-storey building as it stands blocking the connection between two large water bodies-Hatirjheel lake and Begunbari canal.The apex court recently gave the BGMEA one year extension for demolishing its building after the trade body said it would comply with the court order.
