Punjab ITB attracting foreign investment

With focus to create opportunities for more than 56,000 highly trained IT professionals in the province, Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) has been allocated a development budget of Rs 7 billion (US $115 million) for the next three years.
In recent years, there has been significant growth and progress in Punjab's IT sector and many multinational organisations have opened its offices and have made investments of over 100 million dollars.
The multinationals including Microsoft, IBM, DELL, Intel, hp, NCR, Cisco, and Oracle have seen their revenues grow by between 30-70 percent in a sector that is expanding by almost 30 percent each year, said Rizwan Amin Sheikh, Chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB).
In an interview, Rizwan maintained that Chief Minister Punjab, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, is taking initiatives to develop IT infrastructure in Punjab and make it a hub of Information Technology. 'PITB's role is to assist the IT industry in creating a reliable and sustainable IT infrastructure and the development of efficient and competitive human resources. We are making rapid progress in putting in place necessary infrastructure for the development of a thriving Information Technology industry', he pointed out. In the next three to five years, we will be implementing a range of projects that will provide the base for the development of a vibrant industrial sector in Punjab, he added.
Rizwan Amin further said that the Punjab government has formed strategic partnerships and alliances with multinational companies and investors such as Bukhatir Group from the UAE, Prince Alwaleed from Saudi Arabia, British Telecom, Singapore's Jurong International and many others to execute mega development projects. "PITB has been playing a vital role in attracting foreign investors in the IT sector. Some of the key mega IT projects include, Software Technology Park (STP), Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS), Punjab IT Communication Hub and Data Center, Demand Based IT Training and IT Labs."
To a question, he said there are several IT investment opportunities in Punjab for the foreign investors. The opportunities include the Lahore Internet City, Call Centre BPO, Medical and Legal Transcriptions, Satellite HUBS (VSAT) and General Information Systems (GIS).
About mega projects, he said an exciting project being implemented by PITB is the 500-acre Lahore Internet City along the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway. The theme of the project is live, work, play. It entails the construction of hi-tech complexes, software development complexes, call centres, business process outsourcing centres, research & development (R&D) centres, biotechnology research centres and associated facilities.
The Lahore Internet City will also have a four-five star hotel and several apartment blocks to provide quality accommodation for up to 10,000 people. "PITB is in talks with Middle Eastern investors and companies to become partners in the project, which will have an e-Government centre. Another major initiative is Rs 450 million ($7.5 million) project for creating a Punjab-Wide Data Centre and installation of a satellite (VSAT) hub to provide Internet connectivity throughout the province. The project will be implemented in phases. The first phase will be implemented over the next 12 months to connect all the districts of Punjab. Within 24 months, the union councils will also become part of the network. Internet access will be first provided to government offices and schools. Over the next three-four years, 65,000 schools across Punjab, and district and provincial government departments in the 35 districts of the province, will be connected to the network.
Talking about Land Records Management Information System, he said at present, the land record management in Punjab is obsolete and too cumbersome for the citizens. Due to poor land record management and lack of automation, local as well as foreign investors have been reluctant to invest in rural areas of Punjab. In addition, both local and foreign financial institutions have been unwilling to finance industries and businesses that involve rural land. To improve the present functioning of land records in Punjab and eradicate the challenges faced by the general public in getting their land documents, the government has launched the Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS) project. The first phase will be implemented by investing 50 million dollars. The objectives are to provide transparent and efficient access to land records to the citizens, reduce costs of obtaining FARD and other land records, and increase the level of public confidence in the records. The LRMIS project would also help achieve the objectives vis-a-vis implement e-Governance policies and procedures, use IT to assist citizens of Punjab, streamline business processes of the land records management system, strengthen revenue administration from Kanungoi to board of revenue, increase public awareness of land rights, build the foundation of a modem, accessible LRMIS, monitor quality and efficiency of services provided by the board of revenue.