Sylhet Hi-Tech Park project sent to cabinet committee for approval

ICT Division sources said Bangladesh Navy-operated organisation Dockyard and Engineering Works Limited (DEW) will develop the project as part of the government plan to implement the Vision 2021. Shyam Sunder Sikder, secretary to the ICT Division, has sent the project summary to the cabinet committee on November 15 for approval. The project is worth Tk133.19 crore. Earlier, State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak reviewed the summary of the project and gave his consent to send it to the committee. According to the project summary, the DEW will implement the project work as per the direct procurement method (DPM). The park will be established on a 162.63-acre land at Companyganj upazila in Sylhet district. An official of the ICT Division said it is a priority project of the government. Considering it, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority will put additional care so that it can be completed quickly. Under the project, the dockyard will build an approach road, an administrative building, a sub-power station, a fibre optical connectivity and a boundary wall. The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project titled “Primary Infrastructure Construction of Hi-Tech Park, Sylhet” in March this year. Meanwhile, the government is developing Kaliakoir Hi-tech Park, the first-ever in the country, located at Kaliakoir upazila in Gazipur. It is 40km north of Dhaka city and being built on a 232-acre land. Summit Technopolis and Bangladesh TechnoSity Limited are developing the parks. The Hi-tech Park Authority offers 10 years tax holiday, exemption of income tax for expatriate professionals, 10 years accelerated depreciation permissible, exemption from import duties, 100% exemption from taxes for all exports, 100% equity for the foreign direct investors, custom bonded area and single-window agency.