Land allocated for Hi-Tech Park

ICT Minister Abdul Moyeen Khan

M Shamsul Islam, minister, land ministry chaired the event organised by the Ministry of Science and ICT while Abdul Moyeen Khan, minister, Ministry of Science and ICT was the special guest. Dr. M Omar Faruk Khan, acting secretary, Ministry of Science and ICT, Azad Ruhul Amin, secretary, Ministry of Land, Dr. Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, principal secretary to the Prime minister and Chowdhury Tanvir Ahmed Siddiqui, standing committee member, BNP, were present among the others.

"Procedures for setting up the ICT Park were taken into consideration two years back, but it took a long time to acquire the land. From today, Kaliakoir would be identified as one of Bangladesh's landmarks. We have a plan to set up a helipad at the High-Tech Park so that foreign counterparts will be able to fly to the park. We also have plans to provide uninterrupted power supply and round the clock Internet connections. We would facilitate the park with every state of art technology available overseas," said Khan.

He also informed that the software and hardware that are being produced here at lower prices compared to India is still lacking in competition because of inefficient marketing strategy, and needs to be improved as quickly as possible.

The ministry of Science and ICT also admitted that the private sectors are playing a major role for the development of the ICT sector of the country. More than 70 percent of the contribution to the progress of ICT is made by the private sectors.

Dr. Omar Faruk Khan, acting secretary, Ministry of Science and ICT and Azad Ruhul Amin, secretary, Ministry of Land signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the handover of land.

Ahmed Siddiqui requested the minister of Science and ICT for an expansion of road to the Tech Park.

The High-Tech Park is expected to have departments of electronics, hardware, software, human resources and development institutes, bio-informatics, material science, automobiles and metal industries, agro-bio-technology and genetic engineering, pharmaceuticals, ICT enabled services, research & development (R&D) centers and laboratories.

The Bureau of Research, Testing and Consultation (BRTC) from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) earlier made the research and study for the High-Tech Park.

Its infrastructure is planned to facilitate dedicated electric sub-station, uninterrupted power supply, ISDN telephone exchange, wide bandwidth data communication connectivity, fiber optic LAN for high speed data transfer, conference facilities including video conferencing system, housing, hotel and amusement facilities, water supply and sanitation, education and training institutions and medical services.

The government of Bangladesh (GoB) will spend 91.5 percent of Tk.251 crore issued for the structure of High-Tech Park. Tax holidays, customs clearing and banking facilities would be combined in a one-stop service to invite foreign high-tech industries. Working with the overseas high-tech industries would gain experience and develop the skills of the local population in this arena. Hewlett Packard, one of renowned brands in technology solutions providing has already agreed to participate at the park along with companies from Hong Kong, China, Singapore and other countries.