ISLAMABAD: The Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded two Optic Fibre Cable (OFC) project contracts worth approximately Rs3 billion to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) for providing connectivity in Ghotki, Kandhkot-Kashmore, Sukkur and Khairpur districts.

The contracts were signed at a special ceremony held at Governor House in Karachi on Monday.

These projects will not only provide digital highway for seamless broadband coverage to people of the four districts but will also improve their standard of living by creating job opportunities for them and empowering the local communities.

Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Imran Ismail said: “Today’s event marks another landmark achieved in the history of Pakistan and will go a long way in taking the developmental work being done by Government of Pakistan to a greater level”.

He held out the assurance that with consistent efforts and spirits, the ministry of IT and telecommunication would continue to undertake more challenging and productive programmes in future for the promotion of IT and telecommunication-related services.

The projects have been designed to connect 372 educational institutions, 170 health facilities, 217 government offices and 131 banks within five kilometres radius of the node.

Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque told the audience that ‘IT parks’ were being created which would contribute towards achieving the target of implementing the ‘Digital Pakistan’ initiative.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2021