Bangladesh will expand a massive settlement under construction in its southernmost district to house 9,00,000 Rohingya Muslims, a Minister said on Thursday, putting it on track to rival the world’s largest refugee camps.
Two thousand acres of land in Cox’s Bazar district were set aside last month for a new site to house 4,00,000 Rohingya who had fled ethnic bloodshed in neighbouring Myanmar since late August. But space has been exhausted as the number of refugees exceeded half a million.
Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, Minister for disaster Management and Relief, said the estimated 8,00,000-9,00,000 refugees would be relocated to the new camp on the fringes of Kutupalong, the largest Rohingya settlement in the area.
The settlement being built by the Army — known as the Kutupalong Extension — would be expanded by 1,000 acres to accommodate the enormous population, said Mr. Maya.
He said all refugees living in the 23 camps stretching along the border would be relocated to the new site, and the existing settlements closed.
