We welcome news that the government plans to sign a $2bn concessional loan deal with China in March to help develop Bangladesh’s ICT sector.
As well as having a focus on improving broadband connectivity and ICT services in rural areas, the proposed deal shows a welcome sense of vision by seeking to fund a tier-4 data centre project in Gazipur.
Data centres of this type play a key role in the infrastructure of the Internet, by providing facilities to access and store large amounts of information. If developed, the plan on the table by China’s ZTE Corporation to build a top level tier-4 data centre in Bangladesh could lead to our country being home to the fifth largest such facility in the world.
This would be an important asset and boon to Bangladeshi businesses and ICT professionals.
Bangladesh has been advancing at an admirable pace in developing ICT access, but rural regions still drastically lag behind urban areas. The introduction of proper optical fibre connectivity via this loan in rural areas which have so far been heavily reliant on mobile based services, is vital to spread ICT and outsourcing opportunities around the nation.
It is encouraging to see China’s support in helping our country improve its ICT infrastructure.
The administration must do its utmost to make sure this loan is spent effectively. The opportunity it provides to help our nation’s IT sector leapfrog forward must not be squandered or lost within layers of bureaucracy and corruption.
