Dhaka: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday sought cooperation from the country’s architects in building infrastructures using local resources keeping in mind the environment and land resource constraint.

She said: ‘I seek your cooperation in building infrastructures suitable for the country using the local resources.’

The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating the newly constructed building of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) in the capital’s Agargaon area.

Sheikh Hasina stressed the importance of formulating a master plan before going for any major development activity.

Terming architecture as the symbol of civilisation, she reiterated her stance not to preserve all British colonial structures, rather preserve some of them as symbols.

‘We’ve some traditions...we were under colonialism for 200 years, that’s correct, but I don’t think that we’ve to preserve all the red buildings (constructed during the British era), we can preserve one or two as symbols,’ she added.

The Prime Minister said Bangladesh has earned its Independence, and the country’s architects should design new structures with their independent mind.

‘These structures should be built in a way so that people after 200 years could feel proud of the structures,’ she said.

Held with IAB general secretary Qazi M Arif in the chair, the inaugural function was addressed, among others by Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman, President of Architects Regional Council Asia Sathirut Nui Tandanand, IAB President Dr Abu Sayeed M Ahmed and Convener of IAB Center inauguration Kazi Golam Nasir.