LAHORE: The Punjab government will set up the first Special Technology Zone (STZ) in Lahore called TechPura over an area of about 100 acres of land and the companies located in this zone will benefit from special fiscal and tax incentives.
The Techpura scheme, which was included in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) 2021-22, was recently approved by the Provincial Development Working Party and allocated Rs 25 million for preparation of its feasibility. The government has the intention of setting up nine STZs in nine divisions of Punjab.
As per the details shared by the Punjab Information and Technology Board (PITB) on Saturday, the first such zone will be established in Lahore and the companies located in these zones will benefit from the ease of doing business, better infrastructure, access to talent, and special fiscal and tax incentives. Setting up of the Lahore STZ has been included in the ADP 2021-22 and the Punjab Chief Minister has set up a working group to oversee the development of this zone on a fast track basis.
The PITB will act as a facilitator and a bridge between the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry and the Punjab government in setting up of STZs in Punjab. The STZ aims at providing dedicated space and other incentives for all technology verticals, including but not limited to small, medium and large ICT companies, start-ups, incubators, freelancers, multinational companies, business process outsourcing BPO services, IT enabled services (ITeS) and chip design centres.
The PITB said that the focus is on services and research and development related verticals, manufacturing units will not be allowed in STZs, as the government already has set up many special economic zones that cater to the manufacturing industry.
“An international consultant, having experience in successfully establishing technology zones in other countries, will be hired. It will be the responsibility of an international consulting firm to design the state of the art technology zone so that direct foreign investment can be brought,” it added.
The PITB sees countless benefits for global companies entering Pakistan’s technology zones. Pakistan has talented youth and a skilled labour force; more than 60 percent population of the country comprises youth under the age of 30. Pakistan possesses more than 300,000 information technology professionals, over 10,000 ICT companies and 700 tech start-ups while 30,000 plus IT and engineering graduates are entering the labour force annually, besides having the fourth highest-earning IT/freelancing workforce in the country. Hence, there is tremendous potential for global technology companies to use Pakistan as their back-office, the PITB said.
According to the PITB, the cost of technology talent in Pakistan is about one-fourth of that in the developed countries, especially in fields such as software development and BPO/ITeS services, which make the country very attractive for global MNCs. Additionally, the availability of infrastructure, ease of doing business initiatives, fiscal and tax incentives being provided in the STZ will further add to its attractiveness.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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