The cutting-edge information technology parks around the country, when completed, will create job opportunities for information technology (IT) specialists, draw millions of dollars in valuable foreign currency, support the IT sector, and promote its exports.

Construction has already been started on IT parks in Islamabad and Karachi, each costing Rs 13.72 billion and Rs 41 billion, respectively, according to a Ministry of Information Technology official. Some15,000 and 20,000 IT workers respectively will have employment prospects, he added. The Karachi IT Park, the largest IT project of its type in Pakistan, would benefit not just Karachi residents, but also IT professionals and businesses in Sindh and the rest of Pakistan, he continued.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council had authorised the establishment of IT Park, Karachi at its meeting on June 4, 2021, for a capital cost of $186.658 million. It included a loan of $158.416 million from Korean Exim Bank and a $28.242 million local contribution from Public Sector Development Programme.

The project is expected to be finished in June 2026. The Civil Aviation Authority sold the land for the park close to Jinnah International Airport. The IT ministry official said technology parks must meet minimal infrastructure standards, including having clean facilities and enough workspace. The most recent technology and telecommunications facilities are available in technology parks, making it simple to start and run a firm.

The primary goal of technology parks is to foster the growth and development of knowledge-based businesses. The official said that the spectrum of services provided by the parks is directly related to the roles they have to play. The advantages of the technology parks extend beyond the businesses and tenants of the parks to companies outside of them. He said that technology parks have advantages for the knowledge-based economy, entrepreneurship, and cutting-edge technologies.

The eleven-story IT Park Karachi is a standalone structure with a covered area of 106,449 square metres. About 225 start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses are given office space in the Technology Park in Karachi, along with additional auxiliary amenities like testing labs, classrooms, industry-academia linkage centres, auditoriums, etc.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk