[🇧🇩] Bangladesh Urban Development

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Smart on Street: Dhaka North launches parking app for eight Gulshan roads​

Photo: Zia Chowdhury/ TBS

Commuters in Gulshan can now expect hassle-free parking for their vehicles as the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), in collaboration with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), has launched an app introducing the country's first-ever on-street parking facility in the posh vicinity.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal inaugurated the app, "Smart on Street Parking", at an event at the DNCC head office in Gulshan-2 on Wednesday.

The app covers 202 parking spaces on eight different roads in the Gulshan area.

The home minister said, "The Prime Minister has already announced the plan to build a smart Bangladesh. To build a smart Bangladesh, a smart society is needed, smart education is needed and smart governance is needed."

Hailing the inauguration of the smart parking app as a dream come true, Abdul Momen, deputy commissioner of Gulshan traffic division, said that it will greatly help people park their cars in designated spaces.

Addressing the event, home ministry's Senior Secretary (Public Security Division) Mostafizur Rahman lauded the initiative, expressing his hope that the app would ease the traffic congestion in Gulshan area.

In his speech, Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam assured that the number of parking spaces will be increased gradually in the capital.


Designed to address the widespread parking issues, the "Smart on Street Parking" allows users to pay for parking on the roadside per hour, offering real-time information on available parking slots in Gulshan.


The app has been developed under a pilot programme, titled "DNCC Smart Parking," aiming to streamline the parking process and enhance convenience for car owners and drivers.

Initially, the smart parking service fee will not accept cash payments. Users can pay through mobile banking or bank cards via the app. Additionally, Point of Sales machines at the parking slots will facilitate fee payments.


For those without bank cards or mobile banking accounts, the authorities will issue parking cards, with charges deducted from these prepaid cards for parking services.

Md Mostafizur Rahman, assistant commissioner of Gulshan traffic zone, told The Business Standard that it is now its Dhaka dwellers' turn to use the facility appropriately.

"If we want a European standard traffic system, we have to act accordingly," he said.

Authorities have also launched the country's first Parking Card with partnership from Mastercard and Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC to make the parking service accessible.

For parking through the app, cars, jeeps and microbuses will be charged Tk50 each for the first two hours, Tk50 for the third hour, and Tk100 each hour from the 4th hour onwards.

Parking a motorcycle will cost Tk15 for the first 2 hours, Tk15 for the 3rd hour and Tk30 for every hour from the 4th hour onwards.

No fee will be required for parking after 10pm to 8am from Saturdays to Thursdays. Parking is totally free on Fridays and other public holidays.

Cox's Bazaar (Bangladesh Premier seaside resort) detailed visit report with recent real estate and tourism developments. Close captioning in English available.

Dhaka emerges 2nd most populous city in the world​

In 2000, Dhaka’s population was only 17.4 million, and over the following 25 years, it more than doubled to reach 36.6 million in 2025.

Tribune Report

Publish : 27 Nov 2025, 12:12 AM
Update : 27 Nov 2025, 12:12 AM

With 36.6 million inhabitants, Dhaka has emerged as the world’s second-most populous city in 2025, trailing only the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, which has a population of 41.9 million.

A recent UN report notes that Bangladesh’s capital has experienced a remarkable population surge, rising from ninth place to second within just the past 25 years. With the current growth trend, the report predicts that Dhaka is set to overtake Jakarta as the world’s most populous city by 2050.

“Fast-growing Dhaka is expected to become the world’s largest city by mid-century. Karachi (Pakistan) will enter the top ten by 2030 and could rank fifth by 2050.

Meanwhile, Tokyo is projected to fall in rank from third in 2025 to seventh in 2050, as its population shrinks to around 31 million,” states the report titled World Urbanization Prospects 2025, released this week by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

In 2000, Dhaka’s population was only 17.4 million, and over the following 25 years, it more than doubled to reach 36.6 million in 2025.

Tokyo, which had a population of 30.3 million in 2000, was the world’s most populous city at the time. However, with only marginal population growth over the past 25 years, the Japanese capital has now fallen to third place, with 33.4 million residents.

Following Jakarta, Dhaka, and Tokyo, the other seven cities in the current top-ten list are: New Delhi (30.2 million), Shanghai (29.6 million), Guangzhou (27.6 million), Cairo (25.6 million), Manila (24.7 million), Kolkata (22.5 million), and Seoul (22.5 million).

Shanghai and Cairo are new entrants in 2025, as they were not among the top ten most populous cities in 2000. In contrast, Mexico City and São Paulo—two major cities in the Americas that were in the top ten in 2000—did not make the list in 2025.

The UN report projects that by 2050, Dhaka will become the world’s most populous megacity, with a population of 52.1 million, surpassing Jakarta, which is projected to have 51.8 million residents.

Number of megacities continues to grow; over half are in Asia​

The number of megacities—cities with 10 million or more inhabitants—has quadrupled from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025, with 19 located in Asia. Projections indicate there will be 37 megacities globally by 2050, as populations in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Dar es Salaam (United Republic of Tanzania), Hajipur (India), and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) grow to over 10 million.

The total number of cities worldwide has more than doubled between 1975 and 2025. Among the world’s 12,000 cities, 96% have fewer than 1 million inhabitants, and 81% have populations below 250,000.

This distribution underscores that the majority of the world’s urban population resides not in megacities, but in small and medium-sized urban centers, which play a critical role in shaping sustainable urban development. By 2050, the world could have more than 15,000 cities, most with populations below 250,000.

Dhaka Bypass Toll Expressway partially finished for now.

Dhaka growing eastward - along Madani Avenue and Purbachal Expressway, still in construction

Some upcoming and current mid-rises in Dhaka which are all around 40 stories tall.