The S-04 project is a very specific project that aims at the hearth of Dhaka resiliency, which is upgrading and retrofitting of the vulnerable existing buildings. This is also the most important component of any effective Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) program. The main objective of the project is to derive technical data of buildings and estimate their expected performance and plan for retrofitting them to save lives and reduce the risk of injury and fatality in future earthquakes.

To achieve this goal, 3252 important buildings composed of 5.3 million square meters, have been surveyed using the Rapid Visual Assessment (RVA) methodology through a specially developed Android/Apple based application. Then by a prioritization methodology, 578 of those buildings, composed of 1 million square meters went through Preliminary Engineering Analysis (PEA). The objective of PEA was, first to develop a ranking system for a given population of building stock considering both the technical and financial issues; then to prioritize the buildings according to prioritized index that is consisting of both the technical and cost considerations. Finally, 187 of the buildings, composed of more than 0.4 million square meters are went through in-depth Detailed Engineering Analysis (DEA). At the end, the long-term investment plan is developed based on a sound, reliable and comprehensive approach, using valuable field data.