by 
The cabinet has approved establishment of Special Technology Zone on 120 acres of land in Islamabad.
Briefing media about the decisions taken by the federal cabinet, which met in Islamabad with Prime Minister Imran Khan in the chair, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Syed Shibli Faraz said the cabinet also approved the said plan.
Sources in the CDA said the NIH had been allotted 600 acres decades ago and lease of the land expired years back. This means the land now belongs to the CDA, the daily Dawn reported.
“Though possession of the land is still with the NIH, the latter has no legal right on the land as the lease has expired,” said an official of the CDA.
So far NIH has hardly utilised 25pc of the 600 acres and the remaining land is lying underutilised.
The CDA board in principle approved the setting up of the STZ on the land, and will handover it to STZA.
The CDA board also approved a layout plan earmarking dozens of plots where IT related projects will be set up. The board members said currently there are 18 universities in Islamabad, producing software engineers and IT graduates. The board was told that there are only two IT parks in Islamabad – Evacuee Trust Complex Software Technology Park and KSL Software Technology Park in I-9.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan has appointed Amer Ahmed Hashmi, a global strategist, IT executive, and entrepreneur, as chairperson for the Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA). Hashmi, a graduate of York University Toronto, possesses diverse global experience in organizational leadership with companies like IBM and MCI Systemhouse. He was the founding CEO of Si3 – Pakistan’s pioneering technology outsourcing firm. His work has been featured in Forbes Asia, Businessweek & Financial Times UK. Hashmi spent the last 10 years building a knowledge ecosystem in his capacity as Advisor and Chief Strategy Officer at National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST).
The prime minister would serve as the president of the Board of Governors of the STZ Authority.
Special Economic Zones to revolutionize industrial & economic growth of Pakistan
Islamabad’s CDA sector to be inaugurated in March for low cost housing
Join The Discussion