The government has undertaken a Tk1,154.83 crore project to replace old and unsafe structures and modernise and expand Dhaka Medical College.
Under the project, three 15-storey buildings and two four-storey buildings will be constructed on the Dhaka Medical College campus.
The project, titled “Replacement and Reconstruction of Unusable Structures of Dhaka Medical College,” was approved at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday (19 August). The Directorate General of Medical Education will implement the project, with the entire cost proposed to be financed by the government.
According to Planning Commission officials, the four-year project was initially proposed for implementation from March 2026 to February 2030. Following recommendations from the commission, the implementation period has been revised to September 2026-August 2030. Construction work could begin in September this year.
The project includes several new residential and non-residential buildings. These include four 300-seat lecture theatres; a 15-storey academic building with three basements, 300 seats and two examination rooms; an 800-seat, 15-storey student hostel with one basement; a four-storey service building; a 15-storey residential quarters building with two basements; and a four-storey mosque with capacity for 800 worshippers.
The project will also include broader infrastructure improvements across the campus, including a waste management system, rainwater harvesting, a sewage treatment plant (STP), deep tube wells, internal gas connections, an LPG system, landscaping, water-body improvements, water-efficient sanitation, a fire hydrant system, substations, modern lifts, energy-efficient lighting, modern electrical fittings and other necessary internal and external electromechanical facilities.
Why the project is needed
According to the project proposal, many buildings at Dhaka Medical College – established in 1946 as the country’s first and premier medical college – have become dilapidated and unsafe.
Around 1,500 students are currently enrolled in MBBS and postgraduate programmes at the college. There are four residential halls for students. Among them, Dr Fazle Rabbi Hall, built in 1955, has a capacity of around 700 students but has deteriorated significantly due to its age.
The Public Works Department has already declared the fourth floor of the hall’s main building abandoned. The floor contains around 30 rooms, but they are no longer available for student use, creating an accommodation shortage for new batches.
Dhaka Medical College students had boycotted classes from May 2025, raising five demands including safe residential facilities. The college administration subsequently suspended academic activities from 21 June to 11 July, while students were asked to leave the halls.
The project also considers constructing an overpass and an underpass at the point where the Dhaka Medical College and hospital buildings are connected.
Meanwhile, a separate project to construct 19 hostels at 10 medical colleges is also set to be placed before Ecnec. Two additional female student hostels will be built at Dhaka Medical College under that project.
After the Ecnec meeting, State Minister for Planning Zonnayed Saki said the Dhaka Medical College project was among 10 projects approved that day.
“Many structures at Dhaka Medical College have become unusable,” he said. “Under this project, various unusable structures, particularly student hostels and non-residential buildings, will be reconstructed.
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