After being a part of the team that developed Intel’s Pentium microprocessor, I returned to my motherland in the year 1992 hoping to develop the local Semiconductor industry. The struggle continued for ten long years (1992—2002). Putting the pieces together continues to be a major challenge in the land of the pure.
The journey from romance to finance is not fully understood. At the end of the day there must be a sound business to generate revenue. Commercialization and application of technology remains an unsurmountable challenge.
As Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation (2002-2005) my focus then shifted to the mining sector that also included the development of Thar Coal deposit as an energy resource for the country. This time the focus shifted from electronics to energy with the challenge of putting the pieces together. Mining has started at Thar with inexpensive power generation now Gasification is being carried out for wider, cleaner use of the huge Black Gold deposit (175 billion tons) that can cater to the energy needs of the nation for over two centuries.
After reading the news SIFC (Special Investment Facilitation Council) unveils plan to give a boost to Semiconductor industry, I decided to share the work already undertaken in this vital sector. The ’ Pakistan National Semiconductor Plan ’ (PNSP) of January 2022 is a comprehensive document that covers all aspects of technology development in this sector. The plan focusses on the design aspect followed by testing and manufacturing. The value chain starts with education. It proposes the establishment of a cabinet level task force, headed by a czar to implement short- (2025) medium- (2030) and strategic long-term plans (2050).
It was in the decade of the seventies that such far reaching technology development plans were undertaken in the country, the most vital being the development of the ’ Nuclear Device ’. A major revamp of the docile Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was carried out. Engineer Munir Ahmed Khan was approached to head PAEC, who was then serving in the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEC) in Vienna. He remained in this position for about 18 long years. Unlimited, un-auditable funds were provided for this purpose with direct reporting only to the President.
After the military coup in July 1977, attempts were made to shelve the programme, but it continued. Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) remained associated with the effort till his last day in office. Dr Adul Qadeer Khan was provided with an alternate set-up to enrich Uranium as a fuel for the device (Kahuta Research Laboratories). There were several other technology initiatives that perished after toppling of the elected government of Bhutto. To produce Silicon for Solar Cells, the National Institute of Silicon Technology (NIST) was established that produced Silicon Wafers from local sand. Pakistan was the first country in Asia to produce the base material for Semiconductors. In the year May 2021 NIST was merged with Pakistan Council for Appropriate Technology (PCAT) to create Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies ( PCRET ), which was finally shut down to be merged with PCSIR (Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research). Another loose canon AEDB (Alternate Energy Development Board) met a similar fate.
In the year 1992, fresh from my Intel experience I started to work with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), which also had an ’ Electronics Wing ’ that looked after the National Institute of Electronics (NIE). In principle, an agreement was reached to establish the first Semiconductor Fab within NIE, which was then to be handed over to the private sector following the PIDC (Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation) model.
Market research was carried out to identify the most widely used electronic devices or Semiconductor Chips (ICs) in the country. Plan was to transfer technology together with a buy back arrangement for export of the excess capacity after meeting the local needs. ICs in common use were to be manufactured locally, it was middle of the road technology at that time (CMOS of 1 to 2 Micron Devices). As the then President Farooq Leghari took keen interest in the development of the Electronics and Telecom Industry in the country, regular meetings were held at the Presidency in which bureaucrats were also present.
By the time the implementation phase of the plan came there was a government change. The incoming regime of PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) wanted private sector to lead the effort. Finally, it was agreed to use the fast-track Israel’s model of Semiconductor Development. The Prime Minster of Israel met with the President of Intel Corporation and invited him to establish a design centre in Tel Aviv followed by manufacturing of IC’s. A blank cheque was given, all Intel conditions were accepted. Today ICs are being designed and built in Tel Aviv.
In late September 1999 I left for the USA to meet several Semiconductor Manufacturers in Arizona and California. While still there the PML-N government was toppled on October 12, 1999. All the efforts were back to zero. However, the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) did manage to set up a Semiconductor Fab in Hassan Abdal which was shut down as there was no sustainable business plan. There were no buyers of the ICs produced by them.
With my experience both local and abroad, I think such long-term technology development initiatives are not currently viable due lack of policy continuity. To develop the local Semiconductor Industry a fast-track approach is needed as we are already behind. The model adopted by Israel is viable and should be implemented to establish a Silicon Wafer Fab in Islamabad. Once operational and profitable, Silicon Wafer production can also be started to meet the basic raw material needs.
The Semiconductor Research and Development Institute (SRDI) in Iran had to face difficulties in the procurement of Silicon Wafers to produce the much-needed ICs. Pakistan has advantage of high-grade Silica Sand, Silicon Wafer Pullers, qualified experts both home and abroad. It is time to put the pieces together with a viable business plan to start manufacturing of the most widely used ICs in the ever-expanding handheld devices being assembled in the country. Islamabad has an archive of plans; the challenge is in their implementation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
(The writer is Ex-Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation; email: [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the newspaper)
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