The under-construction Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-tech Park is now in the final stage of creating employment opportunities for around 14,000 male and female youths in Rajshahi.
Project Director Engineer Fazlul Haque said 88% work of the park has so far been completed.
There are two sections Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building and Sajeeb Wazed Joy Silicon Tower in the park. The incubation centre building was constructed around two years back and ten companies have been allotted space.
On the other hand, seven companies have got a room at the Silicon Tower, which is now at the final stage.
He told BSS that the park has started becoming an employment hub for youths, creating enthusiasm among the young generation.
At present, around 400 youths are engaged in various works, including software development, site maintenance of famous companies and file works as per demand from abroad in the park.
Afroza Arbi Tusi, who works in Fleet Bangladesh, said she was happy to have the chance to develop her career while living in Rajshahi with her family members.
“I was very much anxious about my career during university life and always thought about going to Dhaka for a job,” she said.
Tusi added that the Bangabandhu Hi-tech Park has become a blessing for her as it has created scopes of building careers for many youths interested in the IT sector. ‘Tech Rajshahi' has been working to deliver services related to mobile games and other software.
Mahfuzur Rahman, Chief Executive of the organization, said they have 142 workers and 28 of them are working in the hi-tech park.
He said the location of the park along with its modern facilities has enhanced the brand value of his institution.
Chief Executive Officer of MD Info' Monzurul Murshed said they have got spaces in Joy Silicon Tower and Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Building.
They have around 1,000 workers and 150 of them are working in the office as 95% of the workers are the residents of Rajshahi, he said.
Project Director Engineer Fazlul Haque said that the park has been built on around 31 acres of land in Nabinagar area adjacent to Rajshahi metropolis along the bank of the River Padma with involvement of around Taka 335.51-crore aimed at establishing knowledge-based IT industries together with ensuring an area-based development.
The infrastructure development works include land development, a ten-storey silicon tower in the area of 2.70 lakh square feet, a substation building, internal roads and drains, boundary wall and high-speed internet.
The 62,000 square-feet IT Incubation centre with an energy efficient state of the art office building has multipurpose training facilities, high-quality start-ups, rain-water harvesting and renewable energy sources.
Meanwhile, a 172-seat Star Cineplex opened at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-tech Park on January 14 last. Side by side with showing cinema, the Cineplex will be used for the purposes of project training and audio-visual by the entities concerned.
Engineer Fazlul Haque said there is also a provision of the Cineplex for showing video documentaries to the investors from both home and abroad besides an auditorium.
He said the silicon tower will have multipurpose facilities including two basement parking floors, high standard training, seminar and conference rooms, rentable office spaces and a lounge and recreation area.
All sorts of business environments were ensured for attracting investors from both home and abroad. As a whole, the park will contribute a lot towards establishing a knowledge-based IT industry in Rajshahi side by side with creating a business environment through attracting domestic and foreign investors.
It will also play a significant role in the national economy through creating opportunities for new IT entrepreneurs besides creating employment scopes, experts hoped.