LAHORE: Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is likely to inaugurate Pakistan’s first software technology park (STP) on Ferozpur Road today (Monday). The Rs 1.5 billion project by the provincial government will be completed in 12 months and is expected to create 10,000 jobs and generate economic activity of Rs 9 billion per year.
The 15-storeyed park is being constructed in front of Children Hospital on 300,000 square feet of land.
A Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) official said the STP would offer a number of facilities including VSAT, LAN/WAN, video conferencing, a research and development laboratory, an IT incubation centre, a training institute, an IT university, a global database centre, banking, a health club and a modern security system. Consultants from Singapore will manage the project.
The official said the STP would serve companies from the IT and telecommunications sectors, especially cell centres, software application maintenance outsourcing companies, business outsourcing companies, Internet service providers, disaster recovery companies and telemedicine companies. “The province must have a proper IT park to attract foreign investment,” he said. “The park management will set up a one-window service to facilitate foreign investors.”
A Punjab IT Department official said the government had decided to lease out ready-to-use offices to IT and telecom companies at low rates to help them compete in the international market. Designers of the project have suggested reserving four of the park’s floors for small and medium companies, which were the backbone of Pakistan’s IT industry, he added.
PITB Chairman Rizwan Amin Sheikh refused to comment, but said all details would be announced on Monday.
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