Tripura Conclave to invite Summit chairman to explore Technopolis

Tripura is looking for an IT park like the proposed Technopolis at Gazipur and wants to invite Summit group chairman Muhammed Aziz Khan to discuss possibilities for 'doing something similar' in Agartala.

"We are seeking to invite the Summit group chairman to our second Tripura conclave on Aug 6," says Tripura Conclave co-convenor Saumen Sarkar.

Sarkar is a Vice-President (IT) with the Bank of America in US but he organises the Tripura Conclave as a brainstorming session on policy issues involving Tripura.

"We have read about the proposed Summit Technopolis in Gazipur. We feel a similar park can be done in Agartala," said Sarkar.

"And it is best done by those behind the Gazipur project. Tripura can be the backyard of Bangladesh's IT industry," said Sarkar.

The first Tripura Conclave last year discussed how Tripura can leverage India's growing relations with Bangladesh and its own special relationship with the neighbouring country.

Former foreign minister Dipu Moni delivered the keynote address.

This year, the second Tripura conclave will discuss the challenges and prospects of IT industry in the state following its emergence as India's third Internet gateway made possible by the extension of the submarine cable from Cox's Bazar to Agartala via Brahmanbaria.

Tripura's governor Tathagatha Ray will inaugurate the 2nd Conclave.

He is a former chief engineer of Metro Railways before he entered politics and became the West Bengal state chief of the BJP .

"We are trying to get some Bangladesh leaders and surely the chairman of the Summit  group to explore whether Gazipur Technopolis can be replicated in Agartala," said Saumen Sarkar.

"For us in Tripura, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Mumbai and Ahmedabad are far off . We seek our ideas and inspiration from Bangladesh as it is our next door neighbour and we know we can grow together," said Sarkar to bdnews24.com.

"Tripura's IT industry can grow with Bangladesh's . We can be the backyard of Bangladesh's IT industry," said Sarkar.

He said thousands of boys and girls from Tripura are working at various levels in Indian IT firms in places like Bangalore and Hyderabad.

"So we will have no problem of skilled manpower if the industry was to develop in Tripura."

Bangladesh government in June cleared the development of a technolgy business park, Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park (KHTP), in Gazipur.

An agreement was signed between state run Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) and Summit Technopolis Limited, a sister concern of local conglomerate Summit Group.

The KHTP site covers 232 acres of land in Gazipur district, 37 kilometres (23 miles) north of Dhaka with the first phase of development due to be fully operational within 10 years and creating job opportunities for 60,000 IT professionals.

Under the provisions of the agreement, a joint venture between Summit Technopolis and India-based Infinity Infosys Parks Limited,  will jointly invest $208 million in the first phase.

"Hi-Tech Park is our dream project which was delayed for 14 years and finally  we signed the agreement with Summit Technopolis Limited,” said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, junior minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the day the agreement was signed.

“It will be a specialised economic zone and lifeline of the country’s IT sector. A world-class business environment will be created for the local and foreign investors in the KHTP,” Palak was quoted as saying.

"We consider this project as an opportunity to take Bangladesh to a new frontier in manufacturing," said Muhammed Aziz Khan, Chairman of the Summit Group.

"Our plan is to build Summit Technopolis in a manner that it does for Bangladesh what Silicon Valley did for the US. We will shift the value addition of manufacturing many notches upwards in Bangladesh."

The Park will be developed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) with Summit responsible for 90 percent of total costs and the Indian firm for 10 percent.