Minister for Housing and Public Works Zakaria Taher. File photo

SANGSAD BHABAN, April 23, 2026 (BSS) - Minister for Housing and Public Works Zakaria Taher today said in Jatiya Sangsad that the government has taken comprehensive measures to ensure earthquake-resilient construction across the country by enforcing the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC 2020) and the Dhaka Metropolitan Building Construction Rules, 2025.

The Minister said this while replying to a scripted question from ruling party lawmaker Md. Mostafizur Rahman Babul (Jamalpur-3) in the House today with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, in the chair.

Taher said that building design approvals and construction supervision in line with BNBC 2020 are currently being carried out nationwide under the jurisdiction of relevant authorities. 

These include development authorities such as the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), Chattogram Development Authority (CDA), Khulna Development Authority (KDA), Gazipur Development Authority (GDA), Cox’s Bazar Development Authority (CoxDA), as well as city corporations, municipalities and district-level Building Construction Committees.

The minister noted that in areas outside the jurisdiction of development authorities and beyond city corporations and municipalities, Building Construction Committees (BC Committees) have been formed across the country. 

“These committees, operating under the Ministry of Housing and Public Works, are headed administratively by the Executive Engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) in respective districts,” he said.

Taher said they are responsible for approving building designs and ensuring quality standards at all stages of construction.

He further said that structural designs of buildings under BC Committees are vetted by the Public Works Department to ensure earthquake resilience.

The minister  also informed that, in line with Part-2, Chapter-2 of BNBC 2020, the Bangladesh Building Regulatory Authority (BBRA) Act was passed on April 10, 2026, to ensure full implementation and monitoring of the building code nationwide.
He said following the approval of BBRA, a licensing system for professionals involved in building construction will be introduced.

“Once licensed professionals are engaged in designing and supervising construction, it will be possible to ensure earthquake-resilient buildings at all levels,” he added.