Block-4 of hi-tech park

Developer to be selected by January

The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority is planning to award Block-4 of the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur to developers by the end of January this year. Sources at the ICT Division told The Independent that the tender evaluation for the block, which spans over 36 acres, is at the final stages and the meeting regarding the tender will be held next week. The developer of Block-4 will have to set up a water treatment plant, substation for electricity and also an industrial area for the entire block.
After the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority called the tender, Summit Technopolis and Technocity Bangladesh expressed their interest and submitted tenders. Talking to The Independent, Hosne Ara Begum, managing director of the Bangladesh  Hi-Tech Park Authority, said the tender evaluation is at the final stage. “Hopefully, within this month, the final meeting will take place where we will select the developers for Block-4,” she added.  
Hosne Ara Begum said by awarding different blocks to private developers, the government is expediting and facilitating the development work of the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park.
She also said the objective of the park project, which will be considered a specialised economic zone, is to create a world-class business environment, and develop the country's IT and IT-enabled services sector.
The Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park has five blocks spanning over 232 acres. Out of these five blocks, three have already been allocated to Summit Technopolis and TechnoSity Limited.
Summit Technopolis, an Indo-Bangla joint venture (JV), will develop the second and fifth blocks of the project under public-private partnership (PPP) within the next 40 years at a cost of USD 207 million.
The company is a 75:25 joint venture between Summit Industrial & Mercantile Corporation Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of local Summit Group, and Infinity, an Indian firm.
On June 28 last year, the government had signed an agreement with Summit Technopolis to develop Block-2 and Block-5, which spread over 65 acres and 29 acres, respectively.
On the other hand, TechnoSity, another JV of Bangladesh and Malaysia, has already started development work in 40 acres of land under Block-3 on a ‘design, build, finance, own, operate’ (DBFOOT) basis as per an agreement signed on August 11, 2015.
The company, a 76:24 JV between the local company Fiber@Home and three Malaysian companies— IRIS Corporation, MSC Technology Centre and Alpha Technologies—started construction work on October 14, 2015.
Initially, TechnoSity planned to invest USD 25 million for the construction work, and, if necessary, the investment might also be increased by 10 to 12 times.
The National Board of Revenue has provided a zero-duty privilege to the developers of hi-tech parks for importing materials needed to build the zones.
The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority is also offering 10 years’ tax holiday, exemption of income tax for expatriate professionals, 10 years' accelerated depreciation permissible, exemption from import duties, 100 per cent exemption of taxes for all exports, 100 per cent equity for FDI companies, custom-bonded area and single-window agency.
The zones are expected to create around 10 lakh jobs and increase export earnings manifold. Bangladesh currently earns USD 132 million from exports of IT and IT-enabled services, according to government data.
The government says export of IT services may reach USD 1 billion by 2018.

 

Block-4 of hi-tech park

Developer to be selected by January

The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority is planning to award Block-4 of the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur to developers by the end of January this year. Sources at the ICT Division told The Independent that the tender evaluation for the block, which spans over 36 acres, is at the final stages and the meeting regarding the tender will be held next week. The developer of Block-4 will have to set up a water treatment plant, substation for electricity and also an industrial area for the entire block. After the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority called the tender, Summit Technopolis and Technocity Bangladesh expressed their interest and submitted tenders. Talking to The Independent, Hosne Ara Begum, managing director of the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, said the tender evaluation is at the final stage. Hopefully, within this month, the final meeting will take place where we will select the developers for Block-4, she added. Hosne Ara Begum said by awarding different blocks to private developers, the government is expediting and facilitating the development work of the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park. She also said the objective of the park project, which will be considered a specialised economic zone, is to create a world-class business environment, and develop the countrys IT and IT-enabled services sector. The Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park has five blocks spanning over 232 acres. Out of these five blocks, three have already been allocated to Summit Technopolis and TechnoSity Limited. Summit Technopolis, an Indo-Bangla joint venture (JV), will develop the second and fifth blocks of the project under public-private partnership (PPP) within the next 40 years at a cost of USD 207 million. The company is a 75:25 joint venture between Summit Industrial Mercantile Corporation Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of local Summit Group, and Infinity, an Indian firm. On June 28 last year, the government had signed an agreement with Summit Technopolis to develop Block-2 and Block-5, which spread over 65 acres and 29 acres, respectively. On the other hand, TechnoSity, another JV of Bangladesh and Malaysia, has already started development work in 40 acres of land under Block-3 on a design, build, finance, own, operate (DBFOOT) basis as per an agreement signed on August 11, 2015. The company, a 76:24 JV between the local company Fiber@Home and three Malaysian companies IRIS Corporation, MSC Technology Centre and Alpha Technologiesstarted construction work on October 14, 2015. Initially, TechnoSity planned to invest USD 25 million for the construction work, and, if necessary, the investment might also be increased by 10 to 12 times. The National Board of Revenue has provided a zero-duty privilege to the developers of hi-tech parks for importing materials needed to build the zones. The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority is also offering 10 years tax holiday, exemption of income tax for expatriate professionals, 10 years accelerated depreciation permissible, exemption from import duties, 100 per cent exemption of taxes for all exports, 100 per cent equity for FDI companies, custom-bonded area and single-window agency. The zones are expected to create around 10 lakh jobs and increase export earnings manifold. Bangladesh currently earns USD 132 million from exports of IT and IT-enabled services, according to government data. The government says export of IT services may reach USD 1 billion by 2018.