Pakistan PM launches special technology zone in Lahore that will create jobs, boost exports

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday inaugurated Lahore Technopolis, a special technology zone, to create jobs and boost Pakistan’s tech exports.

This is the second tech zone after Islamabad Technopolis, established to accelerate the country’s transitioning towards a knowledge-based economy.

Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) has announced to set up 14 world-class tech zones across the country in the coming months.

These zones will create thousands of jobs for youth, boost tech exports, generate high-skilled workforce, and develop Pakistan’s technology industry and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Speaking at the event, Imran Khan expressed his desire “to transform Pakistan into a knowledge-based economy by fostering innovation, research and development, and by enabling the youth of Pakistan to take the lead in the country’s development.”

He also highlighted the importance of the technology industry from an economic perspective, especially for creating jobs, human capital development, technology transfer, women empowerment, skills development, import substitution, and overall technology-led economic growth.

Khan said the 10-year tax breaks at the tech zone for local and foreign firms would offer incentives to the tech industry and enhance ease of doing business. The digital economy can create new job opportunities for young men and women who represent more than 60 per cent of Pakistan’s 220 million population, he said.

Pakistan made significant progress in the digital space as information technology (IT) exports crossed the $2 billion mark for the first time this year.

The STZA chairman Amer Hashmi, who is overseeing the country’s ambitious plans to develop a high-tech economy, in an earlier interview told Gulf News that his organisation’s aim is to transform Pakistan into a tech-driven entrepreneurial nation spearheading economic growth. “STZA offers the institutional and legislative support to Pakistan’s technology sector that the industry was lacking to unlock its full potential.”

The Lahore Technopolis is one of the largest Special Technology Zone (STZ) in Pakistan, spanning over a strategically located land parcel of 800 acres, where huge investment is being sought from all over the world to enhance the export potential in the technology sector. Zone enterprise and zone developer licenses have been issued to several local and global companies including Systems limited, Galaxy Racer, Shorooq Partners, Grupo Karim, iEngineering, One Screen, Co labs, DigiKhata, and Adal Fintech.

The event also marked the signing of the memorandum of understanding for in-vestments worth more than $300 million in the technology zones in different parts of the country.