Tk5,883cr project to expand ICT services to grassroots level

The government has kicked off a Tk 5,883 crore digital connectivity project, the biggest of its kind in Bangladesh, to spread the use of ICT to every corner of the country, including the villages.

The project, named Establishment of Digital Connectivity (EDC), will establish state-of-the-art ICT infrastructures coverage across the country and make almost all government services digital to be available at people’s fingertips, ICT officials said at a program on the project at ICT Department yesterday.

While speaking at the event, ICT Division Senior Secretary NM Zeaul Alam said the process of building a smart Bangladesh has already been started.

“We have already drafted a master plan which will be finalised soon. This EDC project will help implement the Smart Bangladesh vision,” he added.   

Under the project, the government will establish 1,09,244 board band internet connections in villages, 10,000 more Sheikh Russel Digital Labs, 57 special labs equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, 555 Joy-D-Set centres, Central Data Center and Software Platform (CRVS), and will deliver 17,314 service delivery devices and 5,500 service enrolment devices.

Moreover, ten selected villages will be converted into digital villages. The government will also set up a 21-story Digital Literacy Center in the capital.

The implementation process of the huge project will be started by laying the foundation stone of Joy Digital Service Employment and Training (Joy-D-Set) Centers on the 18th of this month, ICT officials said.

“Each of the 4,150 square feet centres will be built at the respective upazila complex,” said EDC Project Director Khandoker Azizul Islam.

The digital village initiative will engage farmers in ICT services by providing different facilities, including drones, which will help them by providing data on different parameters about their crop fields. 

The literacy and training centres will be used as digital hubs at district and upazila headquarters where startups, entrepreneurs, and students will be trained.

The government has already brought 18,130 government offices up to the district level under high-speed internet connection by another project. Now new 1,09,244 connections will be provided.

Additionally, the government will establish high-end ICT labs at 31 public universities and 26 other offices. The labs include robotics labs, open data labs, statics labs, and advanced computing labs. The government will also introduce a central data centre.

The ICT department which is going to implement the initiative said that the project has been taken as a part of building a Smart Bangladesh that has been incorporated in Vision 2041.

According to the project documents, all of these works under the EDC project are to be implemented by the ICT Department, and they are to be completed by November 2025.