Once a garbage dumping zone and safe haven for criminals, the Hatirjheel Lake in Dhaka is now one of the centres of attraction for Dhaka dwellers and foreign tourists.
In a bid to further development to the lakefront area, the government has moved to construct an international-standard the Dhaka Opera House Complex on 20 acres of land in West Ulan and Siddheswari areas.
The opera house will provide citizens with a concert hall, theatre hall, and studio theatre hall.
Other amenities will include a large open stage, a recording studio, a gallery, and a number of dedicated makeup and rehearsal rooms. There will also be film centres for cinema enthusiasts and a training centre for the development of young artists.
For the convenience of visitors, the designers are planning to construct a children's corner, an archive, a museum, and food court within the complex.
There will also be souvenir shops where visitors can find items portraying Bangladesh's history and tradition, and a multi-story car park.
To house all this, a large aesthetic building will be constructed on 10 acres of the acquired land while the remaining space around the complex will be open.
Dhaka Tribune quoted Hatirjheel Project Officer Major ASM Sadique Shahriar saying, “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has accepted the proposed design for the project.”
“The land has been selected for the project, but the acquisition process is still to be completed,” he said.
The project will be implemented by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on behalf of the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
The design team will be led by the renowned Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd, which developed the New Hall exhibition centre in Basel and the new stadium for the French football club, FC Girondins de Bordeaux.
Shilpakala Academy Director General Liaquat Ali Lucky said he spoke to three chief architects of the firm regarding this issue.
The project cost has been estimated at Tk 61.24 billion and the implementation time has been set at five years, starting from January 2018 to June 2023.
However, Liaquat refused to comment further on this until they prepare an official report on the project, which is scheduled to be published next week.