ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Amin Ul Haque has said that his ministry has launched two more projects worth one billion rupees for the provision of mobile and high-speed internet services in Tharparkar and Gwadar districts. Haque said in a statement;
“We own the urban and rural areas of Sindh and continuously rolling out Broadband, OFC, and other connectivity projects for these areas without any discrimination,”
Syed Aminul Haque has said that the government is continuously rolling out broadband, optical fiber communication (OFC), and other connectivity projects for urban and rural areas of Sindh without any discrimination. A project worth more than Rs. 870 million has been approved for providing mobile and high-speed internet services in the Tharparkar district, Sindh. The project, scheduled to be completed in 18 months, will provide mobile and broadband facilities to more than 72,000 residents of various unserved villages.
In an official statement, he said that a broadband project costing Rs. 188.1 million has been approved for more than 15,000 people in 19 villages of Gwadar. The minister said that the completion of these projects will provide an opportunity to the residents of unserved, under-served, and remote areas of Balochistan and Sindh not only to connect with the digital world, but they will also be able to find convenience in their daily routines, their businesses, and other life needs with this connectivity.
On the directives of the minister, the Universal Service Fund (USF) Board approved the award of two contracts worth around Rs. 1.06 billion to Telenor and Ufone for the unserved and under-served communities of Balochistan and Sindh provinces on Friday.
The Board meeting was attended by PTA Chairman, Member Telecom MoITT Omar Malik, Chairman Consumer Association of Pakistan Kaukab Iqbal, Vice President Super Net Pvt. Ltd. Imran Akhtar Shah, and senior management of USF.
Minister showed positive thoughts on the project and considers it a major step in making Gwadar, the business hub of Pakistan. The completion of these projects would provide an opportunity to the residents of unserved, under-served, and remote areas of Balochistan and Sindh “not only to connect with the digital world but also be able to find convenience” in their daily routines, their businesses and other life need with this connectivity.
The Federal Minister for IT congratulated the USF Board of Directors, its Chairman Additional Secretary MOITT Mohsin Mushtaq Chandna, and CEO Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary for launching these projects. He said that with the projects of providing broadband services in the un-served, under-served areas of the country under the USF expanding Connectivity Network, the performance of the USF was being appreciated globally. GSMA Asia Pacific and ITU praised USF’s structure and project methodology in this regard.
All the major leadership is exerting special focus on Gwadar and thinks that it could be something very special and contribute to the betterment of Pakistan’s economy. Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) Director General Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Qambrani said Gwadar is destined to emerge as a hub of business and investment activities and the business community should focus on this port city for joint ventures and investment. Qambrani said Gwadar has the potential to transform the lives of the people of Balochistan and the entire country. He said this while giving a detailed presentation to the business community about the development works in Gwadar during his visit to the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI). Malik Nawaz, deputy chief of Business Development, and Rana Mudassar admin officer, SNGPL Islamabad also accompanied on the occasion.
