Proposals to build ICT villages in Dhaka and Rajshahi and a hi-tech park in Sylhet received cabinet committee approval yesterday.
Under public private partnership (PPP) schemes, one ICT village will be established in the capital’s Mohakhali and another in Poba, Rajshahi.
The approvals came at a meeting of cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) as the telecom ministry’s ICT division placed the proposals.
“ICT village and hi-tech park proposals have been approved today (Thursday),” Nurul Karim, additional secretary to cabinet division, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Before getting the approval, the ICT division however had invited requests for proposal (RFP) for the works and received applications too.
Officials said Mohakhali ICT Village will be built on a 47-acre land now occupied by slums. Mir Telecom Ltd, a local company, along with a foreign partner has applied for the works.
The company also submitted application for Sylhet Hi-tech Park, said its managing director Mir Nasir.
Bangladesh High-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) received two more proposals from two different consortiums for the works, according to the sources concerned.
For hi-tech park in Sylhet, the government has acquired 162.83 acres of land in the district’s Companiganj.
A land of 34.56 acres has been acquired to establish “Varendra Silicon City” at Poba upazila in Rajshahi.
The government has also undertaken similar projects in Jessore, Natore and other districts, likely to be placed for approval in next few days.
The government plans to establish ICT parks in every district across the country, said ICT Division officials.
