Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Amin ul Haque Thursday said the government has decided to set up an information technology park near the Jinnah International Airport in the trade and business hub of Karachi at a cost of Rs. 31 billion. Speaking in a ceremony of memorandum of understanding signed by Pakistan Software Export Board and Ultra soft Systems for setting up Technology Park in Quetta, he said, the Ultra soft technology park, with a space of 13,800 sq.ft, would be set up near Quetta International Airport. Managing Director, PSEB Osman Nasir and CEO, Ultrasoft Systems Asif Naeem, signed the MoU. The minister said that Quetta was the largest city in Baluchistan and thus the hub of social, cultural, and economic activities in Baluchistan. “The IT Industry is receiving top priority from the present government to improve Pakistan’s economy, create jobs and lift the overall quality of life” , he added. He said that the industry is being provided strong government support and extremely attractive incentives. There are several projects intended to facilitate and assist the IT Industry in its growth trajectory and ensure continued momentum in the local and export earnings upward. Amin ul Haque said that Pakistan’s information and communications technology industry has delivered stellar export earnings performance. He said that ICT export remittances, including telecommunication, computer and information services surged to US $1.7 Billion at a growth rate of 45.88% during July-April of FY 2020-21, in comparison to US $1.07 Billion during July-April of FY 2019-20. “Ensure the participation of women in the IT sector, especially in the export of IT products. Women who are qualified but have no employment outside the home can play an important role”, the Minister added. Osman Nasir, Managing Director, Pakistan Software Export Board said that following the Direction of Minister IT, PSEB has set up an industry facilitation center to extend maximum assistance to the IT companies in Quetta. There is strong demand for STPs in the country due to the booming IT industry and STPs are being set up on a public-private sector partnership basis. As per SECP data, there are 65 registered IT/ITeS companies in Balochistan out of which 61 are operating in Quetta city. Other than these, there can be more IT/ITeS companies which are not registered with SECP. On advice by Minister IT Syed Amin ul Haque, PSEB set up more STPs through conversion of unused and vacant buildings into state-of-the-art STPs. Work is well on the way towards establishing Technology parks in the Universities. These include Amazon Mall Technology park- Rawalpindi, Sitara Techno Park-Faisalabad, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET)-Karachi, NED University of Engineering and Technology-Karachi, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Sciences & Technology University (QUEST)-Nawabshah, Bannu University of Science and Technology-Bannu and IBA Sukkur Community College, Khairpur.