The Journey of a Pioneer
Faizur Rahman Khan is the mastermind behind the success story of bti, one of the pioneering and largest real estate companies in Bangladesh. Nazifa Tasnim of Colors has interviewed Khan, a scion of famous architect FR (Fazlur Rahman) Khan, who has contributed to setting rules of the game in the housing sector.
The corporate office of bti (building technology and ideas limited) located in Dhaka’s Gulshan area showcases models of their projects at the front entrance. That shows the contribution and vision of Managing Director Faizur Rahman Khan in making bti what it is today. As asked what drew him to this sector, he says, ‘I went to Japan for my Post Master’s (program) where I worked for a real estate company. I then developed my interest in this industry.’ After he returned home, he adds, he along with a few friends started a construction company, which didn’t click. ‘We wanted to do something where we had more control over our service. A real estate company seemed like the way to do just that.’
The journey of bti started with three projects for which the founders had to purchase land. However, as they moved forward, they were considering ways to reduce their investment while still have plots to carry out projects. One way was to collaborate with landowners where they would give bti their land and in return, bti will give them a certain portion of the end product along with a signing amount. Khan has mentioned, ‘It was difficult at that time as there were issues of documentation and trust. The strategy we formulated was to form limited companies for individual projects where the landowner will own a certain portion of shares and we will own the rest. Once the project was over, we transferred our shares to the people who bought those apartments.’
As the sector evolved, bti along with a few other companies of that time went to the government to resolve legal issues pertaining to ownership of land of apartment owners. ‘If an apartment is on the sixth floor and the land is at ground level, how do you connect ownership of these two? An apartment owner is also a proportionate landowner without any demarcation was the answer to that.’ He recalls that the concept of power of attorney was also introduced for the sector, implying that the landowners could sign a contract and give power of attorney to the developer to implement projects and upon completion of the project this power will automatically be nullified.
When asked about influence of his uncle late FR Khan on his works, he says, ‘My uncle was a designer. His designs include the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the world from 1973 until 1998. His theory of tubular designs is still used in designing any high-rise building. It was during my final year studying civil engineer at BUET, I had a lot of interaction with him which organically had an influence on me at that time. But unfortunately, he passed away in 1981.’
Dwelling on challenges and milestones of bti, Khan mentions, ‘The first milestone was resolving ownership dilemma and executing projects without purchasing the land itself. Secondly, bti has always been keen at quality management and was the first company to obtain ISO certification.’ He explains that between 2005 and 2012, it was difficult for everyone in this sector to sustain as the price fell immensely and many companies had to leave the market. ‘Bti always made calculative expenditure even when the market was booming so during this phase of difficulty, we didn’t let our customers experience the impact of this adverse market condition and executed our projects within due time. Passing this phase with ease was an accomplishment for us. It further strengthened people’s trust in bti.’
‘We work to ensure that our customers don’t face any kind of discomfort. A strict schedule is maintained, bti rather delivers ahead of time.’
Asked about a stagnant real estate market, he expresses his views that ‘The recent real estate market is not stagnant. Previously, it experienced a balloon effect but now it has been corrected. You can own an apartment within sixty lakh, of course it won’t be that big but you start somewhere. As you grow your earning will increase and you shift to a bigger house.’
