Sheikh Kamal IT Park will be the driving force of smart country: Palak

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said, “At present, the export revenue from the IT sector is $ 1.4 billion. We want to increase that income to $5 billion by 2025. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has set a target of turning low-income Bangladesh into a high-middle-income country by 2031. With her honesty and courage, a knowledge-based innovative smart Bangladesh will be built by 2041.”

The state minister was speaking after inaugurating the groundbreaking ceremony of Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center at Dinajpur Government College campus on Tuesday, May 31. Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) Whip and Dinajpur-3 MP Iqbalur Rahim was present at the time.

While speaking as the chief guest at a discussion program organized on the groundbreaking ceremony at Dinajpur Government College Campus, State Minister for ICT Palak said, ‘Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center’ is a unique gift of the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the people of Dinajpur. IT Business Incubators and Specialized Labs are being set up in various universities to work with high technology including IoT, robotics, and cyber security to meet the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In just 13 years, under the leadership of Hon’ble Adviser to the Prime Minister on Information Technology, Mr. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the export income from the technology industry has stood at almost $ 1.4 billion. We want to make it $5 billion by 2025. We hope that the construction of this IT training center will be completed soon and we will start operations here in two years. From here, every year one thousand young people will be able to arrange their employment with training. These young people will earn dollars by working in various marketplaces in Europe and America while sitting in the remote areas of ​​Dinajpur; There is no need to migrate abroad to earn dollars. This is Sheikh Hasina’s Digital Bangladesh.’

State Minister Palak further said that now is the right time to build a sustainable high-tech manufacturing ecosystem in Bangladesh, where high-tech parks can play a leading role. A labor-dependent economy is not enough to survive the competition of emerging economies to overcome the post-COVID-19 global recession. In the current context, countries that are focusing on developing knowledge-based and technology-based industries will be able to attract FDI (foreign direct investment). Realizing this reality, high-tech park authorities need to work on developing technology-based infrastructure. The local IT market has gained unimaginable prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic. During this pandemic, the economic activities of the country have been kept active by using information technology.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Iqbalur Rahim, Whip of Jatiya Sangsad and Member of Parliament for Dinajpur-3 constituency, said the ICT industry has opened up the global employment market. Bangladesh is no exception. Information and communication technology has opened the door to huge possibilities to solve the problem of educated unemployed in our country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken various steps to expand the ICT industry in the country to create employment opportunities for our youth. As part of this, the work of setting up Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center in Dinajpur started today. If this project is implemented, on the one hand, such unemployment will be eliminated, on the other hand our youth will become self-reliant by earning foreign currency through freelancing.

In his welcome speech, the Managing Director of Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (Grade-1) Dr. Bikarna Kumar Ghosh said the Bangladesh High-Tech Park Authority is setting up Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centers in 64 districts of the country to create skilled human resources in the IT sector as per the directions of the Hon’ble Prime Minister. As part of this, the foundation stone was laid in Dinajpur today. Apart from Dinajpur, Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centers are being set up in 10 more districts (Narayanganj, Bhola, Joypurhat, Kishoreganj, Kushtia, Bandarban, Sirajganj, Chandpur, Manikganj and Meherpur) under this project. The project will be implemented in 11 districts at a cost of Taka 799 crore with the own funding of the Government of Bangladesh and under the overall supervision of Bangladesh Army.

Bangladesh Diesel Plant Limited Managing Director Brigadier General Syed Mohammad Rafiqul Islam; AKM Abdullah Khan, Project Director, Establishment of Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center (11 districts); Dinajpur Deputy Commissioner Khaled Mohammad Zaki; Superintendent of Police Mohammad Anwar Hossain; Learning and Earning project director Md. Humayun Kabir; Dinajpur Government College Principal Professor Md. Abu Bakar Siddique and Dinajpur District Council Administrator and District Awami League General Secretary Azizul Imam Chowdhury were present as special guests at the ground breaking ceremony. Bangladesh High-Tech Park Authority and local administration officials too were present at the ceremony.