Shahid Zia Shishu Park: Gates shut, work crawls on

The historic Shahid Zia Shishu Park in the capital’s Shahbagh has remained shut for more than seven years as its Tk603.81 crore renovation project crawls on after missing its revised June 2026 deadline, with tender complications, the absence of a project director and political upheaval blamed for the delay.

Once a lively destination where generations of Dhaka children enjoyed affordable rides, the park now lies largely deserted behind high corrugated fences, with only scattered construction activity visible inside.

The park closed on 1 January 2019 for an underground car park and major overhaul, with authorities initially promising to complete the work within a year. Repeated delays, project revisions and political changes have since kept the gates shut, depriving city children of one of the few affordable recreational spaces in central Dhaka.

The latest three-year implementation period ran from July 2023 to June 2026. That deadline has expired without completion, and no new official deadline has been announced. 

DSCC Chief Engineer Nur Azizur Rahman, however, said the authorities were now trying to complete the work by 2028.

The renovation is part of the third phase of the Liberation Monument project at Suhrawardy Udyan. 

Approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at Tk603.81 crore, it is being implemented by Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).

The original plan includes an underground car park for at least 500 vehicles, modern rides, a mosque, food court, pond, walkways and extensive landscaping.

A visit to the site last week found five firms – Sonar Bangla, UCC Infrastructure Ltd, Swadhin Consultation, Sagar Builders and Developers, and National Development Engineers Ltd – working on different components. Only a small number of labourers were seen working on the boundary wall, while another group was preparing iron railings.

Azizur Rahman said the project had been badly affected by the absence of a project director and cancellation of a tender.

“Even though we were expecting to complete the project by June 2027 after the expiry of the June 2026 deadline, it will not be completed by that time either,” he told the Daily Sun. “Now we are trying to finish the work by 2028.”

He said implementation had been hampered for about two years by political turmoil and the subsequent change in state power.

“There was no funding shortage and there were no problems with the construction companies,” Azizur said.

He said the underground car park was intended to ease traffic congestion as large crowds were expected in the area once the park reopened. Structural changes and additions had been made several times, he said, but the original project cost remained unchanged.

Azizur, who is personally overseeing the work, hoped a project director would soon be appointed.

“We are trying our best to reopen the park for children by June 2028 with modern and sophisticated rides, a mosque, a food court, an aesthetically designed pond and other affordable attractive amusements for children,” he said.

He said the renovated park was being developed to European standards, with strict monitoring of construction materials and structures.

“High-quality equipment will be brought from abroad for the park and it will take some time to arrive,” he said. “We have involved a team from BUET [Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology] to ensure the quality and standards of all things.”

The chief engineer said the redesigned park would allow families to spend an entire day there in a peaceful, comfortable environment without spending beyond their means.

Yet physical progress remains modest. The Daily Sun found that only around 30 to 35 per cent of the overall development and renovation work had been completed.

The pond is the only major component completed, while work on children’s walkways, ride-setting structures, mosque, food court and other beautification facilities has yet to begin.

Siam Ahmed, project engineer of Sagar Builders and Developers, said his company was responsible only for beautification, including tree plantation, and had completed about 50 per cent of its assigned work.

“Different types of saplings are ready and locations for planting them have already been fixed, but our work is being delayed because construction work in other areas remains incomplete,” he said.

Ahmed said several new features had been added to the original design to make the park more attractive than other children’s parks and resorts in and outside Dhaka.

The prolonged closure has also highlighted the shortage of affordable recreational facilities for children.

“There are some privately run children’s parks in Dhaka and on the outskirts, but they are very expensive,” said Abu Bakkar, a Hatirpul resident, while standing near the park’s southern boundary on Wednesday.

“The park has remained closed for more than seven years and nobody knows when the children’s lone entertainment destination in the heart of the capital will reopen,” he said.

Bakkar said many children were becoming increasingly dependent on mobile games because of the lack of playgrounds and parks in Dhaka.

PM Ishmam Raunaq, a ninth-grade student at Dhaka Residential Model College, said the park was part of his childhood. He frequently visited it and the National Zoo in Mirpur with his parents.

“I have some memories and nostalgia associated with the Shishu Park. The first time, I was interested in getting on a horse ride, but I did not show up without my father,” said the 15-year-old, urging the authorities to reopen it soon.

Nazma Akhter, a kindergarten teacher from West Rajabazar, said she used to take groups of children to the park every year as part of their annual school programme.

“They have been denied this amusement for many years. Now there is no alternative they can use,” she said, adding that private children’s parks were unaffordable for many low- and middle-income families.

The park was established in 1979 by Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation at the initiative of then president Ziaur Rahman as a recreational facility for children.

Following his assassination in 1981, it was renamed Shaheed Zia Shishu Park.

In March 2018, the then government decided to remove Ziaur Rahman’s name from the park’s plaque. On 30 December 2021, DSCC officially renamed it Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Shishu Park.

After the Awami League-led government fell on 5 August 2024, the park’s management restored its previous name, Shahid Zia Shishu Park. No official announcement has been made on the name change.

For many Dhaka families, however, the park’s name matters less than when its gates will finally reopen.