Tk 110cr project to connect 772 unions with broadband

The cabinet committees on economic affairs and purchase yesterday approved a proposal to buy 8,106-kilometre fibre optic cable from the state-owned Bangladesh Cable Shilpa Ltd of Khulna through direct procurement.

The Tk 110.73 crore project titled “Establishment of ICT Network to Remote Areas (Connected Bangladesh)” will be implemented by the Bangladesh Computer Council to bring 772 unions under broadband connectivity.

The money will come from the Social Obligation Fund (SOF), which was formed with 1 percent of the total revenue of the mobile operators. 

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, chairman of both the committees, shared the information with journalists after the meeting.

Earlier, a team of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), including its Country Director Manmohan Parkash and Mission Leader Pierre Van Peteghem, met with the minister and expressed their interest to introduce a bond for corporate houses.

The bond will be in taka to cushion investors against the impact of sudden change in exchange rates.

The ADB leaders also expressed their willingness to finance the interested investors who want to establish their plants in different economic zones of Bangladesh.