The Chinese government will provide US $100 million to help the country develop information and communication technology (ICT) sector as Bangladesh aspires to become a middle-income country by 2021, officials said.
The Exim Bank of China will finance implementing the government's project titled "Establishing Digital Connectivity".
The ICT division has sent a draft proposal to the cabinet committee on public purchase for its approval of the project. The purchase committee's meeting is likely to be held on Wednesday.
It will be a government to government (G2G) arrangement between Bangladesh and China for implementing the project, a high official of the ICT division told the FE.
The government is placing importance on the development of the ICT sector in order to make a Digital Bangladesh and a middle-income country by 2021.
If the project is implemented then at least 0.2 (200,000) people will get benefits.
The educational institutions (mainly primary and high schools), post offices, health-care centres and other government departments/ organisations at the grass-root level will be digitised through implementing the project.
Besides, it will create entrepreneurs for conducting financial transactions in growth centres and 10,000 point of presence (POP) across the country.
Earlier, the government had established digital connectivity to 64 districts and 47 upazilas through the ongoing projects-"Development of National ICT Infra Network for Bangladesh" and "Development of National ICT Network for Bangladesh Government (Phase-2)."
The projects are also going on to ensure digital connectivity at the union level.
Apart from those projects, the government has prepared strategy for implementing its digitisation plan from July 2017 to December 2019, the ICT official said.
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