Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal says Karachi’s IT Park will create an estimated 15,000 jobs. He also expects the facility to generate up to $100 million annually in information and communication technology exports.
The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) is developing the project near Jinnah International Airport. It forms part of the government’s E-Pakistan programme under the Uraan Pakistan initiative.
The planned park will offer approximately 1.18 million square feet of covered space. Its facilities will include 220 modern offices, 30 dedicated startup spaces and a Tier-III data centre.
The government intends to establish a regional technology hub for Karachi through the project. The facility will accommodate IT companies, startups and technology-focused businesses while strengthening Pakistan’s digital economy and export capacity.
The employment and export figures represent projected benefits once the park becomes operational. The project remains under development, with parliamentary scrutiny earlier this year highlighting substantial delays.
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The federal government has allocated approximately Rs3.75 billion for the Karachi IT Park in the 2026-27 Public Sector Development Programme.
APP’s reporting on official budget documents puts the precise allocation at Rs3,745.486 million, or about Rs3.745 billion. This represents funding for the current financial year, rather than the project’s total development cost.
The allocation forms part of approximately Rs19.58 billion for information technology and digital transformation projects under the federal development programme.
The project has a longer history than the latest announcement suggests. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved it on June 4, 2021.
An official announcement at the November 2022 groundbreaking put the approved cost at $186.658 million. The financing plan included a $158.416 million loan from Korea Exim Bank and a Pakistani contribution of $28.242 million.
That announcement described an eleven-storey complex, comprising eight floors above ground and three underground levels. It also listed testing laboratories, classrooms, an industry-academia linkage centre and an auditorium among the planned facilities.
Authorities initially targeted June 2026 for completion, according to the same government statement.
However, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication raised concerns about progress at its June 2 meeting.
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Chaired by Syed Amin ul Haq, the committee criticised the IT Ministry’s handling of the scheme. It noted that nearly five years had passed since the project’s introduction without significant progress.
Members said authorities had advertised for a local consultant but had not effectively engaged bidders. They also highlighted the absence of a clear completion timeline and warned that delays continued to increase costs.
The committee sought a comprehensive report covering progress, obstacles, next steps and the expected completion schedule. It also directed authorities to ensure transparency, merit and good governance throughout the project.
