Data centre, purchase of ships get green light
China's state-owned ZTE Holdings Company and ZTE Corporation yesterday won a contract to set up the national data centre at Kaliakoir hi-tech park in Gazipur.
The development comes after the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved the proposal from the Information and Communication Technology Division.
The committee also allowed the shipping ministry to procure six ships -- three bulk oil tankers and three oil carriers -- from China National Machinery Import & Export Corp for $184 million.
The two projects will be financed by a $338 million-loan from the Export-Import Bank of China at 2 percent interest. The repayment period for the loan will be 20 years, with a five-year grace period, said an official of the finance ministry.
The data centre will be set up as part of the government's vision of a Digital Bangladesh by 2021, said an official of the ICT Division. Under the project, a high performance, well-structured and well-protected four-tier data centre will be established, which the government, non-government and foreign multinational companies can use to store data.
The data centre will cost $154 million and is likely to be the sixth largest in the world, said the official.
Meanwhile, the shipping ministry in its proposal said the need to bring in new additions to the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation's fleet of eight has become particularly pressing.
The eight ships have an average age of 30 years and it becomes difficult to abide by the various rules of international agencies when using foreign routes.
A huge amount of money is required to bring in new ships, which is not possible using the government's own fund. Subsequently, the shipping ministry proposed to purchase the ships with concessional loans from China.
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