The 2024 edition of Rehab, the largest exhibition in the housing sector, will begin in Dhaka on December 23.

The five-day exhibition will be organized at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Agargaon in Dhaka and will continue until December 27.

This year’s Rehab show will have 220 booths, of which seven will be occupied by gold sponsors, 18 by co-sponsors, 18 by construction materials companies and 10 by financial investment institutions.

Md Wahiduzzaman, president of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab), shared the information at a press conference held at Cirdap Auditorium in Dhaka today.

During the event, the Rehab president also highlighted current issues in the sector.

The new Detailed Area Plan (DAP) – prepared by state development coordinator Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) – is currently the biggest problem in the housing sector, he said.

In 2022, Rajuk has made it mandatory for real estate agents to follow the new DAP for development of urban housing projects, he said.

In the new DAP, the floor space ratio – the measurement of a building’s floor space relative to the size of the lot – was inappropriately reduced, he said.

If the new floor space ratio is maintained, the height of most buildings in Dhaka will decrease, leading to a surge in apartment prices and housing rents, Wahiduzzaman said.

In addition, high registration costs and rising interest rates have significantly slowed new investments in the sector, he said.

Real estate agents have also halted construction of existing apartments and stopped taking on new projects, he said, urging the government to immediately amend the DAP for 2022-2035.

There will be two types of tickets for this year’s fair: one for single entry priced at Tk 50 and the other for multiple entry at Tk 100.

The multiple entry ticket will allow visitors to enter the show five times during the exhibition.

The entire amount received from ticket sales will be spent to help the needy, according to Rehab.

Attractive prizes will be awarded to the winners of the entry ticket draw every day at 9 p.m. during the show.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Advisor AF Hasan Arif will inaugurate the fair as the chief guest, where Rajuk President Major General (retd) Md Siddiqur Rahman Sarkar will be the special guest.