Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center will drive down unemployment in the country and will be the primary source of foreign currency, said State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

He made the statement as the chief guest at an event to lay the foundation stone of the Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center in Chandgaon area in Chattogram on Saturday.

The State Minister said work to set up a hi-tech park at the same location will start shortly, enabling young entrepreneurs to work in the IT industry on a large scale after graduating from the training center.

Zunaid Ahmed Palak said that IT business incubator centres in different universities will work with advanced technologies, including Internet of Things (IOT), robotics, and cybersecurity, to face competition during the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

As a part of this project, work to set up an IT business incubator at the Chattogram University of Engineering and Technology is progressing swiftly.

He also said construction of a software technology park is nearing completion via an upward expansion of the Singapore-Bangkok market.

He opined that Chattogram will emerge as an IT business hub upon completion of these projects.

Deputy Minister for Education, Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, who attended the event as the special guest, said, "For our youths to survive and thrive during this age of competition, technology education is critical, which is why the government is working hard to develop a technology-dependent nation. There will come a time in the near future when, instead of chasing after jobs, youths will become entrepreneurs in their own right and employ people."

The event was closed with a distribution of certificates amongst students trained under a project of the ICT Division.

Around 2,000 specially abled persons were trained and 570 were employed under this project. 12 of the trainees in Chattogram were given laptops.

According to relevant sources, Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority is setting up Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Centres at eight locations across the country, with an aim to develop tech-skilled manpower.

The government is financing the project to set up these centres in Chattogram, Sylhet, Rangpur, Natore, Cumilla, Netrokona, Barishal, and Magura districts. Work on the Tk533 crore project began in 2017.