KARACHI: The Universal Service Fund (USF) of the Ministry of Information Technology has awarded two Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) project contracts worth approximately Rs3 billion to Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) for providing connectivity in Ghotki, Kashmore, Sukkur and Khairpur districts.
Governor of Sindh Imran Ismail inaugurated the projects at a special ceremony held at Governor House accompanied by Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication Amin-ul-Haque, The contracts were signed by CEO USF Haris Mahmood Chaudhary and Acting CEO PTCL Nadeem Khan.
Governor of Sindh said the event marks another landmark achieved in the history of Pakistan and will go a long way in taking the developmental work being done by the government of Pakistan to a greater level.
He assured that the Ministry of IT will continue to undertake more challenging and productive programs in the future, for the promotion of IT and Telecommunication related services. The projects have been designed to connect 372 educational institutions, 170 health facilities, 217 government offices and 131 banks within 5 Kilometre radius of the node.
Federal Minister for IT said Prime Minister Imran Khan realizes the importance of information technology for the country as he envisioned Digital Pakistan and proved his commitment to turn this vision into reality and even bigger challenges can be turned into opportunities.
He said Pakistan Software Board’s export remittances have reached a record level, while IT parks are being created across the country, along with data centers, cloud policy, cybersecurity and manufacturing of smartphones.
The federal minister highlighted that USF’s innumerable projects of providing broadband services and laying optical fiber cables in rural and remote areas of the country are a testament to their undeniable performance.
Summarizing these key initiatives and projects, he mentioned the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the under-served areas of Balochistan that have witnessed record development projects worth Rs8.81 billion.
These projects comprise broadband and optical fiber cables in the under-served and remote areas of Chaghi, Nowshki, Gwadar, Kech and Panjgur, whereas various other projects have been approved for Jhelum and Chakwal. A total of Rs4.15 billion is being invested for the provision of voice and broadband services.
He emphasised that these ICT projects ensure that we are concerned about the well-being of every citizen of Pakistan without any bias based on language, region or province. He reiterated his support and commitment for every resident of Pakistan.
He said these projects will not only provide a digital highway for seamless broadband coverage to people residing in Ghotki, Kashmore, Sukkur and Khairpur districts but also improve the lives of people, create job opportunities for them, empower local communities, along with women, who can reap the benefits.
