Sagar Biswas :
It’s an ambitious technology project, setting a Tier 4 Data Centre at Kaliakair in Gazipur district to store vast amounts of digital data of government, private and international organizations under high security arrangements.
But the starting seems a giant mess: corruption thrives, contract missteps, cost overruns. There is also widespread allegation that the project site is unsuitable and unworkable.
The billion taka project, which has not yet get approval from ECNEC [Executive Committee of the National Economic Council], is going to be implemented also without conducting proper feasibility study, forming necessary laws, organogram, adequate number of skill manpower and not preparing DPP [development project proforma].
“The data centre is going to be established in line with the present government’s Digital Bangladesh plan. The work is going on smooth and easy. Now, we are waiting for approval from ECNEC,” Secretary of Information and Communication Technology [ICT] Division Shym Sundar Sarkar said.
Currently, Bangladesh has a tier 3 data centre at Bangladesh Computer Council Bhaban; but it is too small to store huge data flow that comes from government offices, banks, research centres, and other business organisations.
But in fact, only five Tier 4 data centres, out of 19 across the globe, have been sustained. In Bangladesh perspective, several other data centres may be flourished by the time, mostly from private sector, after establishment of the National Data Centre [NDC].
Turning down the claim, Executive Director of Bangladesh Computer Council, Ministry of Post, Telecommunication and IT, SM Ashraful Islam said: “To make the country a high-tech nation, it is essential to set up the Tier 4 data centre. Earlier, we had lost free submarine cable facility due our ignorance. Later, we had to buy the facility expending huge amount of money. So, we don’t want to delay to setting up the Tier 4 data centre.”
Sources said China’s ZTE Corporation has won a contract to set up the project, which will be financed by $134 million [Tk 1380 cr] loan from the Export-Import [Exim] Bank of China at 2 per cent interest. The repayment period for the loan will be 20 years, with a five-year grace period.
But a committee of ICT Division later made a commercial negotiation with ZTE Corporation where initial cost of the project was fixed at US$ 154 million [Tk1200cr]. Not only that, ZTE is a private organization, which has got bellow 32 per cent share of Chinese government.
Whereas Bangladesh government signed a MoU with Chinese government in 2013 to set up the project under government to government [G to G] deal. Now question has been raised how the project would be done when ZTE is a private organization? And how the project proposal has been raised in Cabinet committee without approval from Planning Commission?
It is also learnt that, the report of BoQ Technical Specification and Negotiation Committee was also not perfect as the second man of the committee Dr Mahfuzul Hoque, Chairman of CSE Department of BUET, did not attend the meeting regularly. But the committee report was submitted allegedly posting his counterfeit signatures.
When contacted, Dr Mahfuzul Hoque told The New Nation, “It was not possible for me to attend each and every meeting of committee. However, I don’t know about forgery of my signature.”
State Minister for Information and Communication Technology [ICT] Zunaid Ahmed Palak was not available for comments despite repeated attempts. A Tier 4 data centre will stay available 99.99 per cent of the time, with only an annual down-time of 26.28 a minute.
It’s an ambitious technology project, setting a Tier 4 Data Centre at Kaliakair in Gazipur district to store vast amounts of digital data of government, private and international organizations under high security arrangements.
But the starting seems a giant mess: corruption thrives, contract missteps, cost overruns. There is also widespread allegation that the project site is unsuitable and unworkable.
The billion taka project, which has not yet get approval from ECNEC [Executive Committee of the National Economic Council], is going to be implemented also without conducting proper feasibility study, forming necessary laws, organogram, adequate number of skill manpower and not preparing DPP [development project proforma].
“The data centre is going to be established in line with the present government’s Digital Bangladesh plan. The work is going on smooth and easy. Now, we are waiting for approval from ECNEC,” Secretary of Information and Communication Technology [ICT] Division Shym Sundar Sarkar said.
Currently, Bangladesh has a tier 3 data centre at Bangladesh Computer Council Bhaban; but it is too small to store huge data flow that comes from government offices, banks, research centres, and other business organisations.
But in fact, only five Tier 4 data centres, out of 19 across the globe, have been sustained. In Bangladesh perspective, several other data centres may be flourished by the time, mostly from private sector, after establishment of the National Data Centre [NDC].
Turning down the claim, Executive Director of Bangladesh Computer Council, Ministry of Post, Telecommunication and IT, SM Ashraful Islam said: “To make the country a high-tech nation, it is essential to set up the Tier 4 data centre. Earlier, we had lost free submarine cable facility due our ignorance. Later, we had to buy the facility expending huge amount of money. So, we don’t want to delay to setting up the Tier 4 data centre.”
Sources said China’s ZTE Corporation has won a contract to set up the project, which will be financed by $134 million [Tk 1380 cr] loan from the Export-Import [Exim] Bank of China at 2 per cent interest. The repayment period for the loan will be 20 years, with a five-year grace period.
But a committee of ICT Division later made a commercial negotiation with ZTE Corporation where initial cost of the project was fixed at US$ 154 million [Tk1200cr]. Not only that, ZTE is a private organization, which has got bellow 32 per cent share of Chinese government.
Whereas Bangladesh government signed a MoU with Chinese government in 2013 to set up the project under government to government [G to G] deal. Now question has been raised how the project would be done when ZTE is a private organization? And how the project proposal has been raised in Cabinet committee without approval from Planning Commission?
It is also learnt that, the report of BoQ Technical Specification and Negotiation Committee was also not perfect as the second man of the committee Dr Mahfuzul Hoque, Chairman of CSE Department of BUET, did not attend the meeting regularly. But the committee report was submitted allegedly posting his counterfeit signatures.
When contacted, Dr Mahfuzul Hoque told The New Nation, “It was not possible for me to attend each and every meeting of committee. However, I don’t know about forgery of my signature.”
State Minister for Information and Communication Technology [ICT] Zunaid Ahmed Palak was not available for comments despite repeated attempts. A Tier 4 data centre will stay available 99.99 per cent of the time, with only an annual down-time of 26.28 a minute.
