The cabinet yesterday decided to prepare a comprehensive master plan to turn the entire Tejgaon industrial area into a planned industrial, commercial and residential area.

The decision was taken at the weekly cabinet meeting held at the Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

An inter-ministerial committee headed by the housing and public works minister will prepare the master plan. It will then be sent to the prime minister for approval.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said Tejgaon industrial area was established on 500.20 acres of land in the 1950s which now has 430 plots and sub-plots.

"The decision to transform it into an industrial, commercial and residential area was taken following the demand by some businessmen and elected representatives of the area,"

he said. The master plan will specify the nature of industries to be set up in the area as there will be no heavy and labour-intensive industries there, he added.

The Detailed Area Plan (DAP), land use plan, zoning map, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, existing flyovers, parking facilities, service roads and other necessary facilities would be considered while formulating the plan, he said.

He said the PM had asked to prepare the master plan speedily and properly.

Later, a senior official of the housing and public works ministry told The Daily Star that the master plan would be prepared within a month.

The cabinet also approved another proposal for ratifying the visa exemp-

tion agreement for official and diplomatic passport holders between Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Diplomatic and official passport holders would be able to have access to and make transit in both countries and could stay up to 30 days under the agreement, he said, adding that the stay can be extended with the approval from the authorities concerned.

However, the visa waiver facility could be suspended in case of any special circumstances like domestic turmoil, security concerns and health hazards in both the countries.

Bangladesh now has visa waiver agreements on official and diplomatic passports with 12 countries and discussion is goingon in this regard with 19 more countries, said the cabinet secretary.