In 1997, the project with an estimated budget of Tk 151.8 crore was undertaken by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). However, the government subsequently did not allocate any budget for the purpose. Recently, the project has been enlisted in the 2005-06 Annual Development Project (ADP).

"We need to arrange Tk 99.55 crore while the government will provide the rest," said Colonel Azizul Haque, chief health officer of DCC.

The market-cum slaughterhouses will be established at Gabtali in place of the present cattle market, Sayedabad, Khilgaon Taltola and Uttra Sector 13.

"We are looking for financiers for this project," said the chief health officer.

The slaughterhouses with modern facilities for slaughtering cattle and preserving the meat will have high hygiene standards to ensure international quality meat.

"There will be facilities for medical tests before the slaughtering and the houses will issue a standardisation certificate for the meat," said Dr. Azmmat Ali, veterinary officer of DCC.

The officials are keen to establish the modern slaughterhouses soon.

"There is a huge demand in the international market, especially in the Muslim countries for Bangladeshi meat but they get disinterested due to our unhygienic slaughtering system," said the chief health officer who added that there will be meat processing plants and cold storage inside all these slaughterhouses so that the businessmen can store the meat for a certain period.

"At Gabtali slaughterhouse there will be two individual plants. One will be reserved for the exporters while another one will provide service for the local market," said the veterinary officer.

Although there are six slaughterhouses in the city under the DCC at Kaptanbazar, Mirpur sections 1 and 11, Gulshan, Hajaribagh and Mohammadpur, the standards are far from satisfactory. Due to lack of strict enforcement of rules the butchers avoid going there and instead prefer to slaughter cattle elsewhere polluting the environment in the process.

The chief health officer said that after setting up the slaughterhouses, they would strictly ban slaughtering of cattle at any other place.

"The meat available in the city is not always hygienic and of good standard. Meat from dead or ill cattle is sold also. If we can make the butchers come to the slaughterhouses it will also ensure consumer right," said Colonel Azizul Haque.

He said that a number of countries have shown keen interest in funding the project. "Companies from Germany, Italy, Scotland, Canada, Denmark and Iran are interested in investing in this project. But they want to establish the slaughterhouses on their own and want to work as the directorate of the responsible ministry while the government wishes to set up the houses itself," said the chief health officer.

He said that they were in negotiation with the companies and expressed the hope that an agreement would be reached soon. The project will take three years to be completed.