PRIME Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday that the tech industry could help overcome Pakistan’s current account deficit by boosting exports as well as addressing the issue of unemployment if the sector was incentivised and facilitated.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of a special technology zone (STZ) in Lahore, called Lahore Technopolis, he expressed the confidence that the project would help provide incentives to the tech industry and bring ease to businessmen, in accordance with the government’s vision.
This is yet another future oriented initiative of the PTI Government with potential to give a fillip to promote IT and related technologies and contribute towards meaningfully enhancing exports of the country.
This is the second (after Islamabad) of a series of STZ that will provide special incentives to attract investors, builders and technology companies to partner with the government and also provide one-window facilitation to local and international companies.
These would be home to Science and Technology Parks, manufacturing units, research and development centres of global tech companies and software houses. They would also feature universities, incubators, accelerators and other ecosystem players.
The Lahore event also marked the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for an investment of $300 million for the establishment of another three technology zones in different parts of the country, which is an indication of the enthusiastic response of the private sector to the initiative of the Government.
It is because of the incentives offered by the government that Pakistan’s IT sector achieved over 47% growth in IT exports, which crossed the $2 billion mark for the first time in the history of the country during 2020-21.
The plan to establish a network of special technology zones would hopefully change the economic outlook of Pakistan by enhancing IT exports and encouraging technology and knowledge transfer from global technology hubs.
It is also encouraging to hear from the Chief Executive of Islamabad Special Technology Zone that it will become the first choice in the region for global tech companies and expatriates due to its state-of-the-art technology-supportive infrastructure, lucrative tax incentives and one-window services.
There is no dearth of highly qualified manpower as universities of repute are producing thousands of graduates every year and these zones are going to provide employment opportunities to about two hundred thousand qualified youths thereby contributing a lot in mitigating the sense of frustration among jobless graduates.
