Govt to set up 14 Sheikh Kamal IT and incubation centres

The government has undertaken an initiative to set up training and incubation centres about information technology (IT) and its subsequent development across the country.

In this regard, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division has taken up a project titled “Establishment of 14 Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centers” in 14 districts.

The ICT Division has sent a project proposal in this regard to the Planning Commission for an approval of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), a senior official of the planning ministry told The Business Post.

“Building knowledge-based human resources and transforming the information and communication technology sector into a booster for the country’s economy is the aim of the project,” he said.

A variety of IT centres will also be set up across the country under the authority of Hi-Tech Parks.

The cost of the project is estimated at Tk 1,114.62 crore which will come from the government exchequer. The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority will implement the project by December 2026.

The 14 districts where incubation centres will be established are Habiganj, Sunamganj, Narail, Dhaka, Tangail, Gopalganj, Sherpur, Gaibandha, Panchagarh, Thakurgaon, Nilphamari, Noakhali, Feni and Patuakhali.

The main component of the project includes construction of a seven-storey incubation building and a two-storey security building for each incubation centre.

According to the officials of ICT Division, if the project is implemented and if IT training and incubation centers are set up in 14 districts, it will be possible to create infrastructural facilities for conducting business activities relating to IT and high-tech industries smoothly.

Apart from building a connection between the academia and the IT industry, they said the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector will be possible to be brought under a single platform in every region.

As per the project proposal, so far 39 high-tech parks relating to IT have been set up in the country. The work of setting up software technology, IT business, and training and incubation centers has been completed in seven places.

“We have held a Project Evaluation Committee (PEC) meeting on December 8 last year after receiving proposals from the ICT Department. We have cleared the project proposals and sent them to the ECNEC for approval,” a senior official of the department concerned said wishing to remain unnamed.

Member of the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission Mosammat Nasima Begum termed the establishment of 14 Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centers a big project for the ICT sector.

“A large number of unemployed youth will get opportunity to take IT training from these centers. Skilled manpower required for ICT companies will be created from here,” she said, adding that young people will also have the opportunity to work as freelancers, plus they can build startups and develop themselves as entrepreneurs.