The interim government has quietly backed away from its earlier plan to construct the official residence of the next prime minister within the National Parliament complex, citing unresolved complications and lack of consensus.
Initially, the proposal involved merging the existing residences of the speaker and deputy speaker to create a new home for the incoming head of government.
High-level officials, including Housing and Public Works Secretary Nazrul Islam, Parliament Secretariat Secretary Kaniz Maula, and senior security personnel, visited the site multiple times to assess feasibility.
However, the plan has since stalled, with officials now adopting a “go-slow strategy,” according to sources at the Ministry of Public Works and Parliament Secretariat.
The move sparked public debate over logistical and architectural concerns.
Critics questioned where the speaker and deputy speaker would be relocated, how security staff would be accommodated, and whether further construction would violate architect Louis I Kahn’s iconic design of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.
Past controversies over the speaker’s residence and the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Centre have already drawn criticism for deviating from Kahn’s master plan.
No project proposal has been included in the current 2025–26 Annual Development Programme (ADP), and Finance Ministry officials confirmed that no funds have been allocated.
Planning Ministry sources also said no formal initiative has been taken.
Officials suggest the decision should rest with the next elected government, not the interim administration.
“It’s not our mandate,” said one senior bureaucrat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Attempts to reach Public Works Secretary Nazrul Islam and Parliament Secretariat Secretary Kaniz Maula for comment were unsuccessful.
Ganabhaban, the traditional prime minister’s residence, has its own complex history.
Built after independence, it was repurposed as a state guesthouse during HM Ershad’s regime and later reinstated as the prime minister’s residence by Sheikh Hasina in 1996.
She lived there until August 5, 2024, when angry crowds stormed the premises during the July Uprising.
Following the unrest, the interim government announced plans to convert Ganabhaban into the July Mass Uprising Memorial Museum.
With no clear alternative in place, the question of where the next prime minister will reside remains unresolved.
