ISLAMABAD: Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) Chairman Amer Hashmi announced on Wednesday that work had begun to establish five technology zones in various cities, including Islamabad, Lahore and Haripur to facilitate IT companies.

The STZA chairman said the state land that had not been in any use for the last many years had been given to the companies on lease to encourage the promotion of the knowledge economy in the country.

The chairman said with the establishment of 60 parks in one year, the country could generate about $5 billion in revenue in two to three years.

Briefing the media, he said, “The Special Technology Zones Authority came into existence in October 2021 under an Act of Parliament and was being operated under the Cabinet Division.”

It was highlighted that the concept of combined efforts and cooperation for promotion of research and development (R&D), between academia, government and industry started in the 1950s at Stanford Research Park, California, USA.

Later, the concept was followed with the development of Tsukuba Science City (Japan), Zhongguancun Park, Beijing, China, Daedeok Technopolis, Daejeong, South Korea, etc.

The success of this concept triggered countries across the globe to initiate special legislation and regimes to enable and protect the growth of knowledge and innovation ecosystems and follow the path of wealth creation through knowledge-driven solutions and services.

Currently, the United States has 115 clusters based on this concept, while China has 169, the UK has 63, India 23, Iran 16, Egypt three, Malaysia five, and there is no such functioning tech zone in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2022