An initiative has been taken to transform the Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) located in Tongi into a high-tech park. The relevant authorities have approved this initiative.
Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor responsible for the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, confirmed this information on social media on Tuesday.
He mentioned that the Telecom and ICT Secretaries are cooperating in this transformation process.
Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb said that TSS, founded in 1963 with assistance from the German tech company Siemens, had a major impact on the country’s technology industry in the past but is now facing several challenges. Efforts to revive the organization through the Dual Laptop project were unsuccessful. The majority of the components for the Dual Laptop were made in Malaysia and assembled locally, which resulted in the project not meeting expectations. Furthermore, while the company has the capacity to produce landline phones, it has not advanced to manufacturing button or feature phones.
He further stated that there have been allegations that MP Russel (the former Member of Parliament from the Awami League, son of Ahsanullah Master from Gazipur) has occupied land in the industrial area and built a stadium on it. The survival of TSS has become challenging due to the allocation of land meant for the industrial institution to other purposes.
He expressed hope that, currently, almost all types of mobile phone accessories, including Wi-Fi routers, boosters, chargers, and even basic USB cables, power cables, and adapters, need to be imported into Bangladesh. As a result, employment opportunities in the country are shrinking.
He also mentioned that discussions have been held with the Director General of TSS to address this issue.
Regarding the current initiative, Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb said that the goal is not to make TSS a high-tech park at this stage, but rather to develop it into an effective mid-tech or low-tech institution.
He added that the Chief Advisor has supported the idea of bringing multiple Chinese manufacturing plants to Bangladesh. Discussions are currently underway on how to align TSS’s existing infrastructure with these efforts.
If this initiative is successful, it is expected to pave the way for a new chapter in Bangladesh’s technology manufacturing industry.
Bd-pratidin English/ Afia
