Govt to establish Rs31 billion IT park in Karachi airport

The government has decided to set up an information technology (IT) park at the Jinnah International Airport in the trade and business hub of Karachi at a cost of Rs31 billion.

As reported by The Express Tribune, the South Korean government has offered to finance the IT park project including the provision of technical expertise.

In addition to that, the government is also setting up IT parks in other cities, particularly Islamabad, in a bid to give a boost to the IT sector. IT is the only sector that offers huge opportunities of employment.

The setting up of IT parks will not only give a fresh impetus to the IT sector, but it will also provide job opportunities for the people.

South Korea is expected to provide 85% of funding for the project, which amounts to around Rs26.4 billion calculated at the rate of Rs170 to a dollar.

Seoul will also offer fellowship training for capacity-building of the IT park management.

The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs31 billion. The government will arrange around Rs26 billion in foreign loans to complete the project. It will meet the remaining 15% of the cost from the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

The IT park will house about 210 IT companies having 8,400 employees. It will feature the usual amenities, offices, daycare centres, and parking facility. Complete with an ICT system, security features and a data centre, the IT park is expected to improve the formation of IT clusters, increase export revenues and showcase Pakistani innovations and services in the IT sector before the international audience and customers.