With the recent fires in the capital, the Bangladesh National Building code (BNBC) has come under fresh scrutiny, particularly since it has not been updated in the past 12 years.

In 2006, the government formed a committee to update the BNBC. It took nine long years for the House Building and Research Institution (HBRI) to submit a final draft in 2015. It has still not been issued as a gazette by the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.

HBRI officials said they finalized the draft in 2014, but could not say why it was never published.

Abdul Wahed, principal research engineer at HBRI who led the BNBC research at the institution, said: “After we submit the draft, it is up to the ministry to issue it as a gazette. We have done our part. There is nothing more to say.”

The building code has provisions for a new central body, the Bangladesh Building Regulatory Authority (BBRA), to implement and enforce building codes nationwide, instead of having several local bodies. It also clearly defines what constitutes a high-rise building. In addition, the building code draft also lists bamboo as a construction material.

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According to a number of sources, forming the BBRA and discrimination between diploma engineers and engineers, are the main reason for the delay in.

Diploma engineers have diplomas and are members of the Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB). An engineer is one who obtains a bachelor’s degree and is a member of the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh. They both work as “supervisor, construction” according to the building code draft.

In high-rise building construction, only IEB engineers are allowed as supervisors, while diploma engineers are allowed in up to 10 storey building construction only. 

Diploma engineers feel slighted by this regulatory distinction between two types of engineers.