Ladies and Gentlemen, it is really a matter of honor for me to address the members of this esteemed organization. The seminar and the topic discussed this evening is proof positive that there is a substantial relevance of computers in professional careers and in private lives in this modern day and age. The importance of software houses can be accentuated by the fact that the citizens have no choice but to journey on the information highway or the nation will be relegated to the ranks of backward countries. The present carefree attitude of many industrialists, businessmen, and even policymakers, towards the development of a computer-related environment should be a source of consternation for those who visualize a developed Pakistan. The pathetic scenario regarding the export of software is another factor that should be addressed with an urgency and in all seriousness.

Pakistan is endowed with people, who if given encouragement, who if given a workable environment, or who if given the pragmatic opportunity, can weave wonders in the field of their choice. I sincerely believe that the world is not afraid of the Islamic Bomb, but that the world has taken notice of the Pakistany Bomb, because they know that this nation has the potential to outdo others, has the ability to be result-oriented, and has the capability to deliver excellence. Alas, the country has been a late-starter when it came to travelling on the avenue of information technology. However, as they say, better late than never.

It is with this premise in mind, that a couple of months ago, I approached the Secretary of Industries, Government of Sindh, Mr Saleem Khan. This fine officer and gentleman likes to do away with bureaucratic inertia and is a go-getter, a trait seldom witnessed in officialdom. I advised him to forget the Federal Software Development Board and what it stands for, and to go for Pakistan’s equivalent of Silicon Valley. I proposed that Sindh should take the lead and develop a mini computer city and project it as a private-public partnership. I also advised him to call in people who were in the computer business so that we could get the right and practical advise and guidance and that we would know what the industry really wanted in this respect.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the energetic Secretary got working and within no time we had a commitment from SITE Ltd for an enclave of atleast fifty acres in SITE Super Highway Industrial Estate, we got a favorable response from the EPZA hierarchy, we got solid commitment from the telephone people, we got the computer-related people on the bandwagon, and we got the whole thing in motion. The Indus Technology Park is on the roll. Co-incidentally, in the first week of September, I was elected the Chairman of SITE Association of Industry, and thus the involvement of this Association became paramount.

What then is this Indus Technology Park? At the outset, it is worth mentioning that in view of the rising business management costs, communication and computerization have assumed priority for attention of the business houses, industries, and government organizations. Software technology is an essential component of an efficient communications network. Many Asian countries have captured a sizeable portion of this global business. India has developed vast infrastructure for evolvement of software technology at Bangalore which is India’s Silicon Valley.

Software technology is a super fast growing industry with an annual growth projected between 25 and 40% depending on which country one talks about. The city of Karachi, where 60% of Pakistan’s software business is already being done, enjoys the status of an attractive and feasible place for promotion and growth of the software technology. The strategy for the development of this Park is that it will be a private-public partnership in which it is proposed that there will be facilities for manufacturing and marketing of software and even hardware, primarily for export. The Park would be declared and notified as an Export Processing Zone to avail all the facilities and concessions under the EPZ scheme. The Federal Government will be approached to notify the Park as an industrial zone. Moreover, the incentives and facilities allowed by the Government of Pakistan under the "Policy Framework and Incentives Package for Software and Related Services" shall also be available to the Park. The benefits of the Park would be promotion of investment, augmentation of employment opportunities, and enhancement of export potentials.

The Park would have the following basic infrastructure:

• Software Houses
• Training Institutions for Professionals
• Hardware Vendors
• Communication Service Providers
• PCB Designers
• Data Entry Centers

It will also have the following supporting infrastructure:

• Boundary Wall
• School/College (upto intermediate level)
• Hospital
• Mosque
• Bazaar
• Internal Shuttle Service
• Playing Ground/Park
• Security System
• Other Necessary Accessories

The Technology-wise breakdown of the Indus Technology Park has been envisaged as follows:

The objectives and advantages of these centers will be to fulfill the requirements of the Park for qualified software developers, to export skilled manpower, and to train the trainers for the software houses. Foreign trainers will also be invited to set up training institutes themselves so that they could have control over the quality and type of personnel they require. It is worthwhile for foreigners to note that graduates here all speak English, that there are excellent universities in close proximity of the Park and therefore abundant qualified manpower is available, and moreover, the training institutes will actually be self-sustaining as the students will be paying for their training also. The additional advantages will be transfer of technology since the trainees will be imparted newer technology and that these trained people then may also get the chance to go abroad and themselves become channels for acquiring latest software projects.

The objectives of these services are to provide point-to-point connectivity to the data entry shops and software houses for offshore development, to provide internet and intranet services to the local software houses inside the Park, to provide web site housing services, and to provide Call Center services to foreign clientele. The features of this set-up include a Hybrid Earth Station, the pooling of funds by the companies in the Park, and under the purview of PTCL.

The objectives of the software houses will be to promote software services working on the offshore model, having a front end office in the foreign market and an offshore office in the Park, and to have product development houses developing software products for export. Additionally, Designing Bureaus/Services will be set up in the Park to offer services such as Chip Designing, PCB Designing, and System Designing. The incentives for foreigner investors will be that the Park would make it easier for companies to work on the offshore-onshore model, and that the companies will have communication links available to run their technical support centers from the Park. Furthermore, these Designing Bureaus/Services will provide employment to many engineering graduates, such as Electronic, Chemical, Electrical, or Mechanical.

The objectives are to manufacture or assemble hardware, to export PC based hardware, to transfer technology, and to promote "Made in Pakistan" logo. The incentives to investors will be the lower cost of labor, the import of duty-free machinery and equipment, and the availability of qualified personnel.

The Indus Technology Park does require the commitment of the private sector and also the continued interest of the government for it to succeed. It is also proposed that the allotment procedure would be made in such a way that only genuine investors participate and that if these allottees fail to commence operation within a stipulated timeframe, then the allotment would stand cancelled and money forfeited.

It is pertinent to mention here that a major factor in the success of the Bangalore park has been the personal involvement of the highest political authority of the land. In fact, it was former Indian Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao who in 1994 invited the Singapore Prime Minister, Mr Goh Chok Tong, to join hands in developing the infrastructure of a technology park for India. The India International Tech Park in Bangalore is modeled after the Singapore Science Park which is the successful Asian Research & Development hub.

The concept of Indus Technology Park is designed to be a "work-live-play" environment and is perceived to be the trailblazer for Pakistan’s entry into the massive global market of information technology. At present, this market is estimated to be in excess of a trillion dollars and Pakistan’s exports are a paltry ten million dollars. The Prime Minister has ordained that the country’s exports which are tottering in the range of eight billion dollar plus change, should be doubled by the year 2000. How would the business community achieve this figure when it seems the only items in which there is a surplus is unskilled manpower and the polluted seawater. Software exports can be the panacea the country is desperately looking for to leapfrog in the world market.

Ladies and Gentlemen, taking advantage of this august gathering, I would also like to introduce the Skill Development Council that is another successful example of a private-public partnership in motion. The SDC is an autonomous body formed with the assistance of the Employers’ Federation of Pakistan, the World Bank, the International Labor Organization, and the National Training Bureau of Manpower Division, Government of Pakistan. It has been established for the prime purpose of identifying, developing, and facilitating vocational training programs to suit the needs of industry with maximum participation of employers.

The SDC Karachi is based in one of the industrial units in SITE and the Chairman is an industrialist who is also the Vice President of Employers’ Federation of Pakistan. Although SDC has been instrumental in imparting training in many fields, it is worthwhile to note that in the field of computers, the SDC’s track record in the last two years has been exemplary:

S. No Name of Training Course Duration Trainees Trained

01 Computer Maintenance 09 months 049

02 Computer Operator 06 months 263

03 Specialized Diploma in Computers 06 months 574

04 Computer Programming (short course) 02 months 016

05 MicrosoftCertifiedProfessional Training 02 months 034

06 Computer Application 06 months 006

07 Oracle ProfessionalProgram(Computer) 06 months 156

08 Software and Netware Engineering 04 months 035

All in all nearly 2000 young people have been trained or are being trained in various fields. SDC has been acknowledged as a pioneer in working in collaboration with experienced institutions both on the domestic front and those that are well known in the international arena.

I thank you for inviting me to this Seminar and for the honor you have bestowed upon me.