Nawaz Sharif IT City- Pakistan’s Largest IT Hub

The Punjab government has officially approved the ambitious ‘Nawaz Sharif IT City’ project in Lahore, pledging a Rs 100 billion to the initiative expected to create a million job opportunities. This aspiring project, which had been on hold under the name of Lahore Knowledge Park for over a decade, is now set to become a reality under the stewardship of CBD Punjab. The Lahore Knowledge Park Company, which was previously managing the project, has passed the baton to the Punjab Central Business District Development Authority (CBD).

Spread over 853 acres near PKLI in Lahore, the project is backed by a robust 10 billion rupees seed fund from the Punjab government. The master plan is divided into four main areas:

• 200-acre IT & Tech District- Design with cutting edge facilities to nurture IT product development and services.
• 150-acre Education City (To attract leading IT corporations and prominent international educational institutions for study of modern IT Education & Research)
• 100-acre Film City (To set up modern studios and production facilities).
• 84-acre Commercial & Residential zone. (Contemporary living spaces and amenities supported by a strong infrastructure).

The first phase of development will see the construction of Celestia, a twin-tower IT building, which has a plan of completing in just 12 months. The entire infrastructure is expected to be up and running within three years, as the Punjab Government has overcome its land transfer and survey issues.

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The revenue model is also diverse, including self-generation, joint ventures, Public Private Partnership (PPP) and REITs, with an estimated budget of 100 Billion PKR.

The Government of Punjab has made the project even more attractive to investors by declaring it tax-free for ten years.

This groundbreaking project promises to revolutionise Lahore, potentially turning it into the driving force of the province’s economy.