ICT project bearing Sheikh family names hits a snag

ICT Division officials said most of the division’s ongoing projects are named after members of the Sheikh family

The former Awami League government’s plan to establish IT-based digital labs and training centres nationwide, named after Sheikh Russell and Sajeeb Wazed Joy, is now hanging by a thread due to the recent change in administration.

Planning and ICT Division officials told TBS that the current interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, is reassessing the Tk59 crore project’s viability and hinted that, even if it moves forward, the names of Sheikh Russel and Joy may be dropped.

Sheikh Russel was the youngest child of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and brother to Sheikh Hasina, while Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Hasina’s son, served as ICT adviser to the ex-prime minister.

Approved in December 2021, this project aimed to establish 10,000 Sheikh Russel Digital Labs and 491 Joy Set Centres across Bangladesh. 

The project, “Establishing Digital Connectivity (EDC)”, has been partially implemented but is currently stalled due to delays in finalising a loan agreement with China. The project involves a Tk33.78 crore loan from China.

Project Director Tanjina Islam told TBS, “The future of the project is uncertain, as the decision rests with the government. It is also unclear if the digital labs and training centres will bear the names of individuals [Russel and Joy]. The ICT division is currently working on it.”

Rehana Perven, a member of the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission, told TBS, “The interim government wants to review all ongoing and proposed projects. The planning adviser said the commission has already begun reviewing several of these projects.”

She further noted that a recent meeting with Planning Commission officials addressed the inclusion of Sheikh Russel and Joy’s names in the said ICT project. A committee will be formed to decide whether individuals’ names will be associated with the project.

According to officials, the current interim government will review the ICT Division’s projects from 2009 to 2024. A committee, led by Additional Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, has been formed for this purpose, and several projects may be dropped after review.

In July this year, then ICT state minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak wrote to the then planning minister to expedite the implementation of this project.

He said the project remained stalled due to the failure to sign a loan agreement with China’s Exim Bank. If the Chinese loan could not be secured, government funding should be considered.

ICT Division officials said that most of the division’s ongoing projects are named after members of the Sheikh family. Sheikh Russel Digital Labs have already been set up in 9,001 educational institutions nationwide. Similarly, the process of establishing training and incubation centres named after Sheikh Kamal is underway.

Key ongoing projects named after Sheikh family members include the establishment of Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centres across the country, the second phase of the Sheikh Russel Digital Lab project, and the primary infrastructure development for the Sheikh Hasina Institute of Frontier Technology.