Govt approves $57m project for e-waste management

The government has approved a project worth $57 million to establish a modern e-waste management plant amid growing concerns over rising levels of contamination in the country.

The Advisory Committee on Government Purchases on Tuesday approved, in principle, the project for the establishment of the state-of-the-art facility at Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur.

The project will be implemented by the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority under the ICT Division through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The PPP approach aims to enhance national capacity for e-waste processing while reducing pressure on the government's revenue budget for the high-cost infrastructure.

According to official documents, the project involves the design, installation, and operation of high-technology e-waste processing facilities with an annual processing capacity of 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes.

The proposal sets a target of commissioning the plant by 2028 and anticipates significant employment generation as well as foreign investment opportunities.

Currently, Bangladesh lacks a formal system for managing e-waste.

As a result, the vast majority of electronic waste — often containing hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium — is handled by the informal sector.

These unsafe recovery practices not only pose severe health risks to workers but also release toxic pollutants into the soil and water.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the special assistant to the chief adviser with executive authority over posts, telecommunications, and ICT, told The Daily Star that the project's initial consultancy report suffered from serious shortcomings.

"After evaluating the deficiencies, we held several meetings with local experts and potential investors in the e-waste management sector," he said.

"We extensively revised the DPP, adding around 50 pages of inputs. These included detailed use cases, identification of raw material sources, definitions of finished products, supply chain structures, investment models, and clear implementation guidelines for PPP companies," he added.

Taiyeb further said the goal was to ensure that private partners cannot act arbitrarily and must follow a structured, outcome-based model built around the principles of reuse and recycling.