Dhaka’s overconcentration of people and economic activity is creating severe economic and social challenges, according to experts at a seminar hosted by the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) on Thursday.

Delivering the keynote, Ahmad Ahsan, Director of PRI, presented findings from a joint BIDS-PRI research project, describing the current urbanisation pattern as unsustainable.

He warned that the excessive concentration in Dhaka, along with congestion, pollution, and the diversion of resources from other cities, was sharply hampering development, slowing job creation, reducing industrial employment, and causing economic losses estimated at 6–10 per cent.

The study also highlighted that, while some industries and residents were relocating outside Dhaka, secondary cities were largely being bypassed, with movement directed instead to smaller towns and rural areas.

Ahsan said that this trend was undermining the benefits of urbanisation and threatening long-term growth prospects.

The seminar also highlighted critical gaps in urban service provision, including water supply, sanitation, waste management, health, and education. Gazipur was cited as an example where industrial growth exists alongside poor worker welfare.

Ahsan attributed these challenges to the absence of a National Policy on Urbanisation, the lack of a dedicated ministry, and fragmented governance between elected city leaders, central agencies, and line ministries.

He called for unified, decentralised city governments with authority and resources to operate transparently and accountably.

Pointing to solutions, Ahsan emphasised the potential of Chattogram’s port, regional development, and the Khulna bypass corridor as priorities to restore urban dynamism and drive the country’s next phase of growth.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), stressed the urgency of urban-focused research.

‘Just as villages disappeared from researchers’ focus in the 2000s, cities now risk similar neglect,’ he said.

Hossain Zillur urged improved data, meaningful decentralisation, and renewed attention to district towns.

Khurshid Alam, Executive Director of PRI, observed that Dhaka’s growth had been unplanned and reactive, with policies constantly trying to catch up with realities, and that the concentration of facilities in Dhaka had made both citizens and institutions reluctant to relocate.

Imran Matin, Executive Director of the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), said that the study relied on highly disaggregated data, which were rarely available.

He highlighted the costly ‘missing middle’ dynamic, explaining that resources bypassed secondary cities and flowed directly to rural areas, thereby reducing the benefits of urbanisation.

Ashikur Rahman, Principal Economist at PRI, said that city development authorities had historically centralised power, weakening city corporations, and warned that urbanisation had expanded without parallel improvements in urban services.

He emphasised that without institutional reform, planned urbanisation and decentralisation would remain orphan agendas.