Islamabad: The Pakistan government has decided to set up the country’s biggest Information Technology Park here in the federal capital as part of newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s efforts to enhance IT exports in the cash-strapped country, a media report said on Thursday.
A plot spread across 3.3 acres in Sector G-10 of Islamabad has already been allocated for the construction of the IT Park after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board, Islamabad’s top civic amenities development body, greenlit the decision to establish the project with the help of a public-private partnership, The News International reported.
Around 1,00,000 square feet of area will be covered in the plot, where at least 5,000 to 6,000 freelancers will be accommodated to work simultaneously. The IT Park would comprise a research centre, library, software house, conference rooms, working space for freelancers and startups as well as an area to exhibit IT products.
The construction of the IT Park will be financed by private IT companies, which will also rent their offices in the area. However, the park would be handed over to CDA, the newspaper reported.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Shehbaz directed authorities to prepare a comprehensive roadmap to increase the country’s IT exports in a meeting with the IT and Telecom sector in the federal capital.
He emphasised taking steps to utilise the full potential of IT exports worth billions of dollars, adding the youth would be provided with education and skills in the IT sector and facilities required for start-ups.
He noted that the projects started for the IT industry in the previous government were yielding positive results pointing out that all banking-related problems of startups, freelancers and IT companies were resolved.
Pakistan is hoping to make IT exports of over USD 3 billion this year and aims to raise it to USD 15 billion in the next five years. It is said that the country has a huge potential to leverage the IT sector.
