Indian company to build Tk 1,205cr IT infrastructure

Indian engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro will build eight multipurpose steel buildings containing IT infrastructure in eight districts for Tk 1,205 crore.

The districts are Natore, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Dhaka, Gopalganj, Khulna and Barishal.

The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday gave the go-ahead to the company's appointment for the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority's project delayed by years.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project in April 2017 and it was due to be completed by June 2021. It later extended the tenure to June 2024.

Now the project will smoothly advance since a contractor has been appointed, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

A total of 12 such buildings will be developed in the same number of districts under a Tk 1,796 crore project.

It is aimed at human resource development in the ICT sector, attracting local and foreign companies for the development of the IT/ITES industry in Bangladesh and creation of business process outsourcing hubs and jobs.

The project has been taken under a Tk 1,544 crore Indian line of credit, which stipulates that Indian contractors have to build the infrastructure.

About the delay, Bikarna Kumar Ghosh, managing director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, said only one company submitted a proposal in the first tender and then there was no progress.

"Then, when we initiated retender, the pandemic stalled everything. We have had to extend the time by 10 times as the Covid-19 delayed the process," he said.