Investors at the Jessore Software Technology Park have issued a 10-point demand, including the immediate dismissal of TechCity Bangladesh Ltd. from the park’s management role, and a full investigation into alleged irregularities and corruption within the organization. On Monday, October 28, the demands were presented in a memorandum addressed to the ICT Advisor through Jessore Deputy Commissioner Azaharul Islam.
According to the memorandum, Bangladesh’s first Software Technology Park was inaugurated in Jessore on December 10, 2017. Shortly afterward, the Awami League government assigned the park’s management to TechCity Bangladesh Ltd., a company owned by Wahed Sharif, through what investors termed an “anti-public agreement.” The agreement stipulated that TechCity would receive 82% of the revenue generated by the park, while the government of Bangladesh, despite being the primary investor through public taxes and a World Bank loan, would receive only 18% of the revenue.
The investors’ memorandum also highlighted allegations of open corruption and mismanagement by TechCity, claiming that local investors have long protested for the contract’s termination. Numerous reports on the issue have been published in the media, yet, as the memorandum describes, the influence of Wahed Sharif, reportedly a friend of ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy, stymied all efforts to remove TechCity from its position.
Following a recent public outcry on August 5, local residents and students demonstrated against TechCity’s management of the park. In light of these developments, local investors have called for the park to be renamed, removing “Sheikh Hasina” from its title, and for TechCity’s management rights to be revoked. They also demanded an audit of TechCity’s alleged misconduct, an end to excessive service charges, electricity bills, and space rent issues, a recalibration of space rental costs to align with local conditions, and the withdrawal of previously issued phantom bills.
The memorandum further noted that, on August 28, the ICT Division held a critical meeting with ICT Advisor Nahid Islam in attendance. During the meeting, officials decided to rename “Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park” to “Software Technology Park, Jessore” and to terminate the existing agreement between Bangladesh High-Tech Park Authority and TechCity due to its perceived anti-public nature.
