Thursday, Oct 13, 2011
Gulf News
With government services being digitised, software exports expanding and rising employment in IT, Dhaka is looking for expertise for technology parks
Dubai Bangladesh, which is digitising government services, is seeking international expertise in setting up an IT park near the capital Dhaka, an official said.
“Currently the government has earmarked a tower in Dhaka’s Kawran Bazaar to convert it into a software park. However, it is seeking international partners for a large greenfield IT park to be set up on a 230-acre plot of land outside the city in Kalialoir,” said Hashim Ahmad, acting secretary of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (Basis).
“This will help us to attract large international IT and telecom service providers to invest and set up facilities as the country’s administration, public service and the private sector are migrating towards the IT platform.”
Earlier this year, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority floated a tender seeking expression of interest (EoI) for the establishment of a Software Technology Park (STP) from suitable parties.
The establishment of the IT park will help the government in developing its e-services platform, “Digital Bangladesh”.
Ahmad said the government is also planning to set up smaller scale IT clusters across all seven administrative divisions, under an “IT Village” concept that will help nurture rural talent and help entrepreneurship across the country.
Although the country is a latecomer in the global IT race, it is grooming more than 5,000 software professionals per year to help realise its vision. It has more than 800 registered software companies employing more than 30,000 professionals and engineers that are offering specialised and value-added services.
The industry generates revenues of $250 million (Dh918.3 million) per annum in an economy that generated a value of $100 billion last year. Exports of software last year reached only $41.47 million. About 56 per cent of the revenues come from IT enabled services while the rest comes from software.
Although currently 160 companies in Bangladesh are exporting software and IT services to 60 countries, their exposure to the Middle East has been minimal, a fact that the exporters want to change through their participation in Gitex.
The US is the largest destination for Bangladesh software exports, while the UAE is one of the smallest.
Bangladesh has put high priority on the IT sector as online services could help increase transparency and reduce corruption. Its Digital Bangladesh project is gradually moving ahead from content development and offering downloadable forms to payment services.
“The government is soon going to finalise the payment gateway facilities and select vendors for collection of service fees. Once that happens, the government services will see radical changes in service delivery that will reduce not only corruption, but also red tape,” said Shoeb Ahmad Masoud, Director of Business Automation Ltd, which is helping the government manage Haj services.
Bangladesh already offers some important services online, such as university admission, board exam results, passport and immigration services.
Home-grown expertise
Indigenous laptop
A Bangladesh government-owned company Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) is launching its indigenous laptop, Doel, named after the national bird, on Saturday.
The 1.48 billion Taka (Dh718 million) project’s trial run began at a TSS factory in Gazipur on July 8. Prime minister Shaikh Hasina will officially inaugurate Doel, priced between 10,000 and 25,000 Taka (Dh1,250).
“It will be given to the administration and it will hit the market afterwards,” head of the parliamentary standing committee on telecom ministry, Hasanul Haque Inu, told reporters in Dhaka recently.
— S.R.
By Saifur Rahman?Business Editor
Gulf News 2011. All rights reserved.
