LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Higher Education and IT Raja Yassir Hamayun Sarfraz said on Thursday that the Lahore Technopolis would offer excellent opportunities for foreign direct investment (FDI) for the digital growth of Punjab.

He was chairing a stakeholder’s conference on the development of “Lahore Technopolis” arranged by the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade (PBIT).

PBIT Chairman Fazeel Asif Jah, Chairman of Lahore Knowledge Park Company Jamal Akbar Ansari, Chairman of Punjab Information Technology Board, potential consumers, stakeholders, policymakers and related government officials were also present.

The minister said it would be a great opportunity for the local IT and knowledge market to enjoy the comprehensive ecosystem for hi-tech manufacturing, innovation, IT solution services, research and development and manufacturing of tech hardware clustered in one geographical space.

Participants presented their recommendations on the future road map for the project to harness different factors of the ICT and hi-tech science value chain, including the academia, institutes of scientific excellence, incubators, accelerators and global brands of tech/tech-enabled solutions into a single cluster.

The spillover effect of the project would bring much needed technological advancement in several key economic sectors through research and development supply chain development.

Mr Jah hoped the session would act as an early-stage catalyst for candid discussion and exchange the ideas in an open and progressive manner to frame a mutually beneficial way forward for this key project.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2022