Pakistan, South Korea ink Rs10b loan pact to build an IT park in Islamabad

[Kabira]

Pakistan and South Korea on Tuesday signed a loan agreement of Rs10 billion to build first state-of-the-art Information Technology Park in Islamabad, Radio Pakistan reported.



The loan agreement was inked by the Ministry of Information Technology and Korea Exim Bank as part of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s vision of Digital Pakistan.

Minister of State for Information Technology Anusha Rehman said the Islamabad Park, spreading over 42 acres of land, will have a data centre and capacity to accommodate over 100 IT companies.

Further, the IT minister said the modern technology park would be an integrated facility and help realise the dream of digital Pakistan. “After Islamabad, international standard information technology parks will also be set up in Karachi and Lahore.”

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While witnessing the signing ceremony, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar said, “The government has a clear programme to a digital and financially inclusive Pakistan.”

It was during the previous tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that the Awami Markaz building in Islamabad was converted into a software park and now a proper multi-purpose park is to be established with the assistance of South Korea, he added.

“Pakistan looks forward towards Korea for closer cooperation,” Dar said. At the same time he pointed out that Korea also helped construct Pakistan’s first motorway; the Islamabad-Lahore Motorway.

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The representative of the Korean Exim Bank said his institution decided to cooperate with Pakistan in the field of IT in view of the vast potential of the country in the sector.

There are over 2,000 IT companies in Pakistan and universities are producing hundreds of thousands of IT professionals, he added. “The Korean Exim Bank is ready to contribute towards socio-economic development of Pakistan.”
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1361537/pakistan-south-korea-ink-rs10b-loan-pact-build-park-islamabad/

 

[Hassan Guy]

Thats good.

 

[SherDil]

The loan agreement to build first state of the art multipurpose Information Technology Park in Islamabad was signed between Government of Pakistan and Korean EXIM bank on Tuesday.

Secretary Economic Affairs Division (EAD), Tariq Mahmood Pasha and Executive Director of Korean Exim Bank, Younghoon Chang signed the document.

The ceremony was witnessed by the Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, Minister for IT Anusha Rehman, and Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Dong-gu Suh.

The information technology park would be constructed in the Chak Shahzad area of Islamabad at a cost of US$ 88.383 million (Rs. 9.2 billion) including a loan of US $ 76.3 million from Korean Exim Bank under the Economic Development Cooperation Framework (EDCF) arrangement. It may be mentioned that EDCF arrangement worth US $500 million was signed with Korea in October 2015.

The IT park would be spread over an area of 45 acres, and provide half a million sq ft of office space for 5000 knowledge workers. It would house an incubation center for start ups, a data center, and allied facilities like day care centers, gyms, and sports facilities.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar welcomed signing of the agreement and said it was the first multi-purpose IT Park being built in Pakistan. It would provide conducive environment where IT companies would be able to work together and leverage each other’s expertise. The park, he said, would not only attract investment but also help generate IT exports.

Dar thanked the Korean Government for their continued support. He invited Korean Exim Bank to have representative office in Pakistan which, he said, would facilitate in better coordination between the Bank, EAD and other executing agencies.

Speaking on the occasion Anusha Rehman said that the IT Park is a major step towards realizing the goal of digital Pakistan. She said that it would provide a complete ecosystem for promotion of IT in the country in combination with other IT and Telecom initiatives being carried on by the Ministry of IT.

Anusha Rehman said that the provision of quality work space would encourage IT companies to shift to Pakistan and in the process strengthen the exports as well as create jobs for the local youth. She said that it would be the first in the series of IT Parks to be built in the country. In the next phase, similar state-of-the-art IT Parks will be built in Karachi and Lahore.

Executive Director of Korean Exim Bank, Mr. Younghoon Chang on the occasion said he felt greatly honoured attending the signing ceremony. Pakistan was making headway in the field of IT. Pakistan’s digital landscape would be further expanded through the new IT park. He said the project would benefit the whole of Pakistan. Mr. Younghoon added that Korean Exim Bank would continue to partner Pakistan in its socio-economic development.

Korean ambassador in Pakistan, Dr. Dong-gu Suh, senior officials from Korea Exim Bank, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of IT, Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB), and Economic Affairs Division (EAD) were also present at the ceremony.

 

[Malik Usman]

A Great Step, At-least first time they are spending loan money in a right direction....

 

[Tom M]

I guess it is already too late for Pakistan, but it's always better late than never. All the very best Pakistan.

 

[My-Analogous]

I guess it is already too late for Pakistan, but it's always better late than never. All the very best Pakistan.

Its never to late and we are catching up the race very fast. trust me

 

[Narcissist]

It's a loan. This sounds like one of those over-promise under-deliver situations.

 

[Nilgiri]

Thats good.

Have you ever typed more than 1 or 2 words in a reply?

 

[Kabira]

It's a loan. This sounds like one of those over-promise under-deliver situations.

Loan isn't problem as long as IT park is build which will pay back loan and then some more.

 

[Hassan Guy]

Have you ever typed more than 1 or 2 words in a reply?

Not today.

 

[Narcissist]

Loan isn't problem as long as IT park is build which will pay back loan and then some more.

Any details on this? There appears to be a data center, and space for companies. Data center can be useful, no doubt. But other than that, I worry it'll be empty space, with a handful of companies.

Hope I'm wrong.

 

[Sully3]

South Koreans are world leaders when it comes to IT and education system. we can learn alot from them

infact South Korea is what pakistan should aim to become like when it comes to IT.

 

[Super Falcon]

10billion for just a park of it it's way way too much u can buy 100 gripen man I smell corruption

 

[Mr.Nair]

India is the world's largest sourcing destination for the information technology (IT) industry, accounting for approximately 67 per cent of the US$ 124-130 billion market.

The Indian IT sector is expected to grow at a rate of 12-14 per cent for FY2016-17 in constant currency terms. The sector is also expected triple its current annual revenue to reach US$ 350 billion by FY 2025

So no wonder why many countries are focusing their interest in South Asia

 

[Mr.Nair]

Pakistan should make effort to have good image in international community, since this is very important to attract very big client especially once comes in IT industry.India done lot of efforts in IT infrastructure and that's why one of the leading IT infrastructures in the world.