The government has approved a $57 million project to establish a modern e-waste management plant at Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park in Gazipur, aiming to address rising environmental and health concerns linked to the country’s growing electronic waste.

The Advisory Committee on Government Purchases gave its in-principle approval on Tuesday for the facility, which the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority will implement under the ICT Division through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Officials said the PPP arrangement is intended to build national capacity for e-waste processing while reducing fiscal pressure on the government for the costly infrastructure.

According to project documents, the plant will be equipped with high-technology systems capable of processing between 200,000 and 300,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. It is scheduled to be commissioned by 2028 and is expected to create jobs and attract foreign investment.

Bangladesh currently lacks a formal e-waste management system, leaving most recycling to informal handlers who often use unsafe methods to extract materials containing hazardous substances, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, posing serious risks to workers and the environment.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser overseeing posts, telecommunications, and ICT, said the project design had undergone significant revisions following expert consultations.

“We added around 50 pages of detailed inputs, including raw material sources, finished product definitions, investment models, and PPP implementation guidelines,” he said.