The Punjab Information and Technology Board (PITB) and Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) have inked the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to operationalise the first information-to-technology (IT) hub for freelancers in Rawalpindi.
As per the agreement, the hub would accommodate 800 youth over two shifts, who will be provided ‘expert instructors’ in IT for guidance. Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaqat Ali Chatha and PITB Director General Sajid Latif signed the agreement at a ceremony in the garrison city on Wednesday.
The Rawalpindi commissioner said that they have been working on the project for the last three months. “The building for the IT hub is ready and the workspaces have also been set up,” said Chatha.
He added that the hub would be made functional soon but did not give any specific timelines.
In April, he had said that the building would be made functional within two weeks. However, the inauguration was stalled due to a lack of expertise and personnel.
Later, it was decided to lease it to PITB for 15 years. In return, the board would pay a monthly rent of Rs950,000 to the Municipal Corporation.
According to plans, the IT hub building would have the same features as the Arfa Karim Randhawa IT Park in Lahore, including being plugged to the international business networks on similar patterns.
Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheema, Rawalpindi Education Board Chairman Mohammad Adnan Khan, Development Director Nazia Parveen Sadhan and others attended the signing ceremony of the MoU.
The Punjab chief secretary said that the youth who were doing IT-related work at home will have access to the facilities available at the IT Hub. He added that it would provide special facilities to women entrepreneurs as well, while pointing out that 61 per cent women were part of PITB's e-Rozgaar (employment) programme.
The hub for freelancers is located in Chamanzar Colony on the Murree Road. It has been constructed and expanded at a cost of Rs65 million.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2023.
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