Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Universal Service Fund (USF) awarded two Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) project contracts worth approximately Rs 3 Billion to Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) for providing connectivity to interior Sindh.
Governor Sindh Imran Ismail inaugurated the projects accompanied by Syed Amin Ul Haque, Federal Minister for Information Technology (IT) and Telecommunication, said a press release.
The contracts were signed by Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary, CEO, USF and Nadeem Khan, Acting CEO & Group Chief Financial Officer, PTCL. Senior officials of the government of Sindh, Ministry of IT and Telecommunication, USF and PTCL were also present at the ceremony.
On the occasion, Imran Ismail said: “Today’s event marks another landmark achieved in the history of Pakistan and will go a long way in taking the developmental work being done by government to a greater level.
He said that the government will start more challenging and productive programs in the future, for the promotion of IT and Telecommunication related services.
He also congratulated Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Amin ul Haque, the dynamic teams of USF & PTCL on award of these projects that have been designed to connect 372 Educational Institutions, 170 Health Facilities, 217 Government Offices and 131 Banks within 5 KM radius of the node. I wish them all the very best for implementation of project objectives.”
Syed Amin Ul Haque, said: “I believe that Prime Minister Imran Khan realizes the importance of information technology for the country as he envisioned Digital Pakistan and proved his commitment to turn this vision into reality.” Syed Amin ul Haque lauded the performance of Ministry of IT and Telecommunication and its affiliated organizations.
He said, that IT parks are being created across the country, along with Data Centers, policy on Cloud, cyber security, manufacturing of Smart phones and much more.
The minister highlighted that Universal Service Fund’s innumerable projects of providing broadband services and laying optical fiber cables in rural and remote areas of the country is a testament of their undeniable performance.
Summarizing these key initiatives and projects, he mentioned the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Ex-FATA) and the under-served areas of Balochistan that have witnessed record development projects worth Rs 8.81 billion.
