State-run Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) Ltd suspended assembling DOEL laptops around two years back and ran out of stocks some eight months ago when it stopped importing the portable computer.

It however continues to employ a few hundred engineers who apparently have nothing to do.

The laptop project was launched in 2010, a year after the Awami League government came to power, in order to realise its Digital Bangladesh Vision.

The hype and promotion centred on a Tk 10,000 one, the cheapest, locally-assembled “Primary Model 2102”, unveiled by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on October 11, 2011.

The model saw sale of only a few hundred pieces.

TSS assembled 63,245 laptops of 11 models till date and managed to sell 58,750 units, according to the Posts and Telecommunication Division's 2016-17 annual report.

Of those, the education ministry took 23,331, the telecom division's postal department 24,000 and the army 2,799 units. All three have complained of poor quality and not getting after-sales service, said a top telecom division official.

With the laptop's low configuration failing to draw attention, TSS brought down its assembly output before suspending it altogether, said senior officials.

It then started to import complete laptops bearing the DOEL logo and marketed it as “made in Bangladesh”. That too stopped after demand reached zero.

Posts, Telecommunication and Information Communication Minister Mustafa Jabbar yesterday told The Daily Star that this should not be tolerated and cannot continue for long.

“I am quite surprised to learn that a digital device manufacturing company has no product of its own and around 350 engineers are drawing salaries without doing any work,” he said.

TSS has all the infrastructures, production line-up and assembling capacity but nothing is moving, said Jabbar.

A top TSS official, asking not to be named, said fund constraints have severely crippled the project while TSS has failed to inject any money by itself to save it.

However, when TSS acting managing director Sanjeeb Ghatak was contacted over phone yesterday, he claimed, “Our production is on.”

He refused to elaborate before abruptly ending the call.

Jabbar said it was now his duty to resuscitate the government venture and for that he would take up initiatives. He said to have already called up all the top TSS officials. Proposals will be sought from them, he said.

A former TSS managing director said they had established a separate venture for the DOEL project where TSS had 25 percent share, while a local company, 2M, and its Malaysian partner TFT Display Sdn Bhd (TFT) kept the rest.

TFT and 2M abruptly abandoned the project within a short time of its inception, which came as a shock to all.

According to a report prepared by TSS for the Prime Minister's Office, TFT claimed around $225,000 for expenses on equipment but was not paid anything, said the managing director.

Walton's Laptop Plant Inaugurated

The newly appointed minister yesterday officially inaugurated the country's first full-fledged computer plant at Walton Hi-Tech Industries Ltd in Gazipur.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak along with senior official of Walton was present.

Walton started production soon after getting permission from the authority in September last year with a target to grab the local market and export to other countries.

The plant was set up with German and Japanese technology with a monthly manufacturing capacity of around 60,000 laptops and 30,000 desktops and monitors, said Liakat Ali, project in-charge of Walton computer.

The company has already opened a research and development centre, testing laboratory and quality control department inside the plant.

Walton said it has invested about Tk 100 crore to set up the plant and plans to expand.

Last year, the government cut import tax on electrical equipment to 1 percent from upto 30 percent.

Walton said its value addition is more than 60 percent and this has been possible only because of the tax reduction.