Seraj, Toufiq M

Seraj, Toufiq M (1956-2019) a visionary urban planner and business personality. He was responsible for changing the real estate industry and urban life of Dhaka City for the better.

Toufiq M Seraj

Toufiq M Seraj was born in 1956 to Md. Seraj Uddin, Director General of Bangladesh River Research Institute, and Fatema Khatun, Professor of Dhaka Medical College. Seraj completed his education at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) with a BSc in Civil Engineering and a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning. He did his PhD in Civic Design with a Commonwealth Scholarship from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. His thoughts were never far from his home country, so he started his career teaching at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, BUET. He soon realized, however, that he needed a more significant and more impactful platform to implement his ideas on urban living and design. That gave rise to his business endeavors in the real-estate sector. In his search for a bigger platform to launch his thoughts, he later switched to business endeavors.

Toufiq M Seraj founded Sheltech (Pvt) Ltd in 1988 with a vision to provide innovation in housing strategies in Dhaka city-such as ‘Sheltech Monihar’ and ‘Sheltech Bithika’, which provided the benefits of living in a gated community with excellent common facilities.Such endeavors gradually turned Sheltech into a trusted organization for residents of Dhaka City. Sheltech's modern housing concepts have changed how people think about comfortable apartment living.

Seraj founded the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) in 1991 along with 9 other well-known entrepreneurs to harmonize and develop the housing industry. He served as President of REHAB for six years, from 2000-2006, for three consecutive terms. As President, he introduced concepts like collaborative endeavors for improving urban living. He popularized membership of Real Estate Companies in such a way that all reputable companies were obliged to join REHAB. In this way, clients felt assured in purchasing apartments from companies having REHAB membership. Thus his policies resulted in the popularization of the concept of Apartment Living because it introduced accountability for Real Estate Developers.

Seraj was elected the President of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) in 2006-8, where he rejuvenated the planning profession further. He was the Team Leader for the Detailed Area Plan(DAP) preparation 1995-2015 for Dhaka. His company, Sheltech Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, completed the preparation of the Regional Development Plan 2016-2035 and is currently working on the new Detailed Area Plan (DAP) 2016-2035 for Dhaka city.

The Forum for Physical Development (FPD) of Bangladesh, a research institute, was set up under his leadership to raise public awareness about earthquakes, fire safety, rural settlements, safety in the construction industry, etc. He has also presented his research and valuable views on various issues through seminars, discussion meetings, exchange of ideas, press conferences, and workshops. His daughter, Saamiya Seraj, a civil engineer and material scientist, and others were involved with him in these social awareness and research activities.

Seraj had the wisdom of making any difficult task easy by attention to detail. This was spurred on by the desire to do something better and inspire all who worked with him.

Toufiq M Seraj was an engineer, planner, and entrepreneur. Despite his busy life, he was very socially inclined and enthusiastic about communication and inclusivity with everyone around him.

He was also an avid reader and writer. He published five research books on Decentralization, the Real Estate Sector, and Urban Planning in Bangladesh.In all his pursuits in business and the academic world, his wife, Zeba Islam Seraj, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka, was always by his side. His daughters, Saamiya Seraj and Sarah Seraj, who was educated at the University of Texas at Austin, supported their father in his endeavors.

Toufiq M Seraj was a successful entrepreneur who built Sheltech with zeal and effort, and knowledge. He enlightened the real estate sector and imbued it with professionalism. Therefore it can be concluded that he uplifted the Lifestyle of Dhaka City Dwellers. [Muhammad Ariful Islam]