An agreement has taken place to build a 36-storey technology tower worth around $70 million in Lahore with the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), Business Recorder learnt on Thursday.
The CODE Science and Technology Park (CODE STP), a Pakistani privately managed technology zone company, signed the zone development agreement for their flagship project, ‘The Mark’.
The project would facilitate export oriented technology firms in services, research and development (R&D), and product markets, Hamza Saeed Orakzai, Chief Market Development Officer, STZA, said.
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“Pakistan is quickly becoming a supply side market to the global technology sector due to availability of highly competitive technical labour at a fraction of the cost elsewhere,” Orakzai told Business Recorder.
He added that the investment size for the project is Rs20 billion (around $70 million) and it would be functional by 2026. When built, it would be the tallest technology tower in Johar Town, Lahore, he claimed.
“There are foreign and local technology companies that need big spaces with specialised ecosystems, for instance for a 1000 people which can’t be accommodated at present. This project will facilitate those companies and also enable local companies to scale,” Orakzai said.
The mega project would be able to accommodate up to 7000-8000 people to work in a single shift, according to STZA official.
Orakzai said the tower would be designed on the Middle East level, with a height of 530 feet and double height ground floor.
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He stated that the companies that be allowed to operate from the facility would be as per the STZA’s notified 48 segments of technology sector including, but not limited to, R&D, IT and ITeS, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, agri-tech, biotech, semiconductor, robotics, blockchain, and other emerging technology segments.
The 36-story skyscraper aspires to be a hub for tech enterprises, academia, and industry pioneers, benefiting from STZA’s fiscal and monetary incentives programme aimed at fostering a climate of innovation and economic growth in Pakistan.
The STZA, led by the Honorable Prime Minister of Pakistan as President of the Board of Governors, serves as the federal regulator for Special Technology Zones (STZs) throughout the country.
STZA’s core mandate is to license Special Technology Zones and technology companies in alignment with the Triple Helix Model of Innovation, providing a framework that intertwines academia, industry, and government to propel the knowledge and technology sectors forward.
In its effort to cultivate a thriving technology ecosystem, STZA extends comprehensive fiscal and monetary incentives for 10-years to both public and private enterprises, encouraging significant financial, technical and intellectual capital influx for knowledge ecosystem development in Pakistan.
The licensed zones are designated for exclusive use by technology firms, which, in turn, benefit from a decade of fiscal and monetary advantages.
“The establishment of The Mark is a testament to our commitment to supporting visionary projects that can redefine the technological landscape of Pakistan. We stand ready to provide our full support to CODE STP in this transformative endeavor,” Aamer Saleemi, another STZA official, said.
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Akbar Shaukat, Board Member at CODE STP, termed the Zone Developer license from STZA to the project a “momentous step towards elevating Pakistan’s Tech sector to new heights”.
Reflecting on the potential impact of the project, Abid Hussain of CODE STP, stated, “The development of The Mark is more than just a construction endeavour; it’s about establishing a dynamic interface that melds private sector dynamism with government initiatives to ignite sustainable economic revitalisation.”
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