KARACHI, April 4: Work on Sindh’s first IT University has been delayed due to non-availability of funds, and its building will be completed by September this year instead of April, 2003.

The move had been initiated following the donation of the Korangi Civic Centre No 3 for establishment of the first public sector IT university.

The project had been finalized in November last year, according to which the federal government would establish the university while the Sindh government would arrange the building.

However, due to delay in provisional grant of Rs20 million, only 20 per cent of the civil and electrification works could be completed, while it is expected that the grant would be transferred to the city government this month and the work will be completed in about six months.

The incomplete building of the Korangi Civic Centre is situated on the main road of sector 36-I, spread over a plot of more than 6,500 square-yards. However, after spending Rs575 million on its structure, having an area of about 1,38,000 square-feet, the defunct KDA had realized that its commercial value was diminishing due to law and order situation in the area.

The building has a lower ground floor, upper ground floor, first floor and second floor. According to the plan, the VC, administration offices, account branch, bank, cafeteria, net cafe, shops and telephone exchange would be located at the lower ground floor.

The second floor will have the registrar office, staff room, dean offices, etc., while lab, auditorium, library and some of the classrooms will be set up in the first floor, whereas the second floor will have classrooms only.

The university will be set up by COMSAT, which has already established state-owned IT universities in NWFP and Balochistan.

However, a senior official of the newly-created IT department of the Sindh government expressed reservations over the plan to establish an IT university in the public sector, saying that it is the fastest developing field and a government university cannot compete with private institutes in terms of quality.

The official added that about 5,000 to 7,000 IT graduates were still jobless in Karachi and such an institute, with low level of quality, will only add to this figure.

Nazim Karachi Naimatullah Khan has, however, on numerous occasions welcomed the decision to establish the IT university in Korangi as it will be helpful in social and educational uplift of the area.—PPI