Dhaka: Bangladesh’s leading conglomerate Summit Group and India’s Infinity Infosys Parks will jointly invest $207.59 million to build the country’s biggest technology park that will provide jobs to nearly 60,000 IT professionals.

An agreement in this regard was signed on Sunday night between state run Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) and Summit Technopolis Limited, a sister concern of local conglomerate Summit Group, confirms Reuters.

The new technology business park, Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, is expected to inject new life into the country’s IT industry, a junior government minister said on Sunday.

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 agreement signed on Sunday 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 today we signed the agreement with Summit Technopolis Limited,’ said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, junior minister for Information and Communication Technology.

‘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,’ he added.

‘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 USA. 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%.