By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: With digital growth going through a rapid evolution, Pakistan is inching towards establishing a vibrant network of state-of-the-art IT parks aimed at providing young professionals with a launching pad to execute their innovative ideas and contribute to the national economy efficiently.
“These parks are expected to not only generate employment opportunities for IT professionals but also attract millions of dollars in valuable foreign exchange, boost the IT industry, and increase exports once they are completed and fully operational,” said an official of the Ministry of Information Technology. He said the foundation stone of an IT park in Islamabad, assisted by Korea, was laid in Chak Shahzad to fulfill Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ‘Digital Pakistan’ vision. While sharing the details of the project, he said, “Rs 13.72 billion in projects is expected to address the infrastructure shortage in the IT sector. It will also facilitate technology transfer through industry and academia linkages, support technology commercialization, link tertiary education with production, promote research and development, and enhance IT exports and industry competitiveness.”
“The Islamabad IT Park will consist of a twelve-story building (including two basements or ground floors plus ten stories) with a covered area of 66,893 square meters. Initially, it will provide office space for around 120 start-ups and small to medium enterprises, along with other facilities such as testing laboratories, classrooms, an industry-academia linkage center, and an auditorium,” he added.
Keeping in view the importance of the project, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, while chairing a meeting on ongoing IT projects, digitization efforts, and strategies to increase exports, said that the completion of the IT Park project in Islamabad would significantly boost the country’s exports in this sector and serve as a milestone towards achieving the $25 billion IT export target.
The PM further directed steps to reduce the project’s completion time after consulting with Korean experts. Under the Prime Minister’s vision, all relevant institutions and departments are collectively working on various projects to elevate Pakistan’s IT exports to the $25 billion mark.
Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Shaza Fatima Khawaja, said, “Following the vision of the prime minister, the government is building IT parks in Islamabad and Karachi. The Islamabad IT Park, expected to be completed by March 2025, is anticipated to create 10,000 jobs.”
She highlighted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s commitment to advancing Pakistan’s IT sector and attracting more investment into the industry.
The minister further said, “The government’s plan to establish over 250 E-Rozgar centers across the country in collaboration with provincial governments and private institutions. These centers aim to provide essential facilities to hardworking and skilled youth in smaller cities, enabling them to access digital opportunities, according to an official from the Ministry of IT.”
“The E-Rozgar centers will be established in every district of the country, with distribution based on each province’s population and data from the 1.2 million freelancers registered with Ignite. Punjab leads the initiative with 149 centers, followed by Sindh with 51, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 28, Islamabad with 11, Balochistan with 6, Azad Kashmir with 3, and Gilgit-Baltistan with 2,” she informed.
“Originally launched by Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif in Punjab, the E-Rozgar centers have proven to be highly valuable, benefiting millions of young people,” she added.
“These centers are designed for those who cannot afford expensive office spaces, allowing them to leverage IT skills and enter the digital workforce. The initiative is expected to enable even more young people to benefit from the growing IT sector,” she concluded.
