ICT Development Project, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has dropped the “Pakistan: Integrated Information and Communications Technology Development Project” worth $200 million.
An official source told Propakistani that the project was dropped in 2019 on the request of the government, however, it is still reflected on the Bank’s website. The proposed project outputs were An IT park set up as a benchmark model in Karachi, National IT parks strategy developed ,Smart city strategy developed and piloted, ICT skills in the higher education stream strengthened with technological readiness for a knowledge-based economy These outputs were supposed to result in the following outcome: strengthened holistic development of the ICT sector in Pakistan. The project will be aligned with the following impact: ICT industry contribution to inclusive growth increased, as outlined in Pillar VI of Pakistan Vision 2025. The investment is also in line with the government’s mid-term IT development policy, the Digital Pakistan Policy 2017. ICT Development Project, The project was pending since 2017. The government of Pakistan envisaged the information and communications technology (ICT) industry as a key driver for innovation, economic competitiveness, and greater social inclusion. Through Pakistan Vision 2025, the government seeks to lay the foundation of a knowledge-based economy by promoting efficient, sustainable, and effective ICT initiatives through the synergic development of industry and academic resources.
Due to the large youth bulge in its demographic profile, Pakistan has strong digital potential to develop a knowledge-based industry fostering innovation and modern entrepreneurship. As per the draft Digital Pakistan Policy 2017, Pakistan currently has about 2,000 ICT companies and call centers and more than 300,000 English-speaking information technology (IT) professionals. ICT Development Project, More than 20,000 IT graduates and engineers are being trained each year. The ICT industry in Pakistan is constrained by the absence of a holistic system that operates in an end-to-end manner. The constraints can be attributed to (i) inadequacies in policy frameworks, (ii) poor infrastructure and facilities, and (iii) weak institutional capacity.In parallel, the policy initiatives need to be supported with skills building, the creation of an IT park, and master planning smart city solutions. Due to these constraints, the current demographic profile has not been effectively channelized, fewer jobs are created, and the potential for a female workforce has not been effectively tapped. The problem tree details the core problem, causes, and effects.The current young population coupled with an English-speaking workforce and a vibrant ICT industry environment would provide huge opportunities for Pakistan to increase exports in software product development and servicing. According to the Pakistan Software Export Board estimates in 2015, the ICT industry recorded $560 million in export revenue. A study by Forester, sponsored by World Bank (2009), suggested that export revenues of $6 billion could be achieved by 2020.
Source: This news is originally published by propakistani