Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday visited Haripur and performed the groundbreaking of Pakistan’s First Digital City special technology zone. The Project was completed at the cost of Rs 1.31 billion. Span over an area of 86 Kanals, it is a flagship project of the KP government. The project is aimed at providing all facilities to the IT sector in the same place. The project provides a state-of-the-art facility for collaborations among industry, academia, researchers, and planners at the local and international levels. The digital city would be beneficial especially for industries like electronics, software houses, the computer industry, mobile industry, technology incubators, and will also play an important role in the job creation in the province. Last month the premier also inaugurated Lahore Technopolis, a similar technology zone in Lahore to promote tech exports. Speaking on the occasion the premier said that govt is taking all possible steps for the welfare of people and specifically for the youth of the country. He further added that the Local government system introduced by the government is also a great step. He continued that the Health Card is also a major step of the government. He said that the future generation would benefit from the steps taken by the incumbent government in the field of education and technology.
Special Technology zones were initiated last year to promote skill development, technology transfer, innovations, and job creation in the country. The government in this regard established a special authority named, Special Technology Zone Authority (STZA) for the development of technology zones in the country. The Special Technology Zones would help enhance the tech export of Pakistan and the formation of industrial clusters for the development like China, Japan, and South Korea. Speaking at the launching ceremony of the STZA, the PM had said, “Special technology zones authority will serve to create a space for foreign investors, indigenous companies and educational and training institutes to collaborate for information technology-driven industrial revolution in Pakistan.” the PM further continued, “Collaborative efforts and correct course of comprehensive national development through these STZs will lead to the utilization of the immense potential of the youth of Pakistan.”
Last month while addressing the inauguration ceremony of Lahore Technopolis the PM had said our neighboring countries like China and India have made tremendous advancements in the field of technology but in Pakistan, no heed was paid in the past on the technological advancement. He said no development was possible without boosting exports of the country and this was possible only by technological changes. He said, even in the case of India, their IT-based exports have crossed the $150 billion mark and Pakistan is far behind with merely $1 billion IT-based exports. The PM said that having sixty percent of the youth population Pakistan has great potential and the incumbent government is committed to promoting the technology sector so that the youth of the country may find an outlet of their energies for earning their living as well as the development of the country.
