Belt Road Initiative

(BRI)

& Building a

Network of S&T Parks

Engr. Tahir Naeem

Director (P&D and HRD)

COMSATS Institute of Information

Technology, Pakistan

Nov. 28, 2017

Hefei City, Anhui Province, China

China’s Belt and Road Initiative

(BRI)

Railway Network of CPEC

BRI – Objectives and Opportunities

Major Objectives:

• To Achieve Policy Co-ordination Across BRI Nations;

• To Build the Infrastructure to Enhance connectivity among

BRI Nations;

• To Increase Trade and Investment Flows;

• To Promote Financial Integration;

• To Foster Better Relations Among the Peoples of the BRI

Nations;

Types of Opportunities:

• Infrastructure Development, Operation and Maintenance;

• Financial and Professional Services;

• Transportation and Logistics;

• Information and Communication Systems;

• Commerce, Manufacturing, and Supply Chains;

• Energy, Natural Resources, and Agriculture.

BRI – Technology Parks Capitalize upon

Geographical Proximity

• Agglomerations of firms, universities and other knowledge Org.

are beneficial for the generation and utilization of knowledge;

• Co-location of knowledge producers and knowledge users

increase the likelihood of cooperation for innovation among them;

• The geographical proximity facilitates knowledge flows/learning

process;

• The codified knowledge is indigenized to suit the context through

R&D inputs by knowledge-based enterprises like those located at

technology parks.

• The transfer of tacit knowledge is facilitated by the geographical

proximity between knowledge providers and knowledge users.

• The incubation centres and technology park act as knowledge

capitals.

The Concept of Proximity is Not Alien to

Economists / Economic Historians / Geographers

• Alfred Marshall’s “industrial districts”

• Joseph Schumpeter’s “innovation clusters”

• Eric Dahmen’s ‘development blocks’

• Francois Perroux’s ‘development and growth

poles’ in the 1950s, and, more recently, economic

geographers’ and economists’ industrial and high-

technology agglomerations and “new economic

geography”

Benefits of BRI

• Strengthens connections across countries;

• Facilitates freer movement of goods and talent;

• Facilitates learning from cross-cultural management

practices;

• Access to expanded markets pushing for increase in

productivity and competitiveness;

• Improved fair competition and market efficiency;

• Improved Returns on Capital;

• Promotion of South – South & North-South

Cooperation;

• Opportunities of improved economic independence

Pakistan’s Vision 2025 aims to make Pakistan the next ‘Asian tiger’ in

coming 8 years through achieving ‘Seven Pillars for Development’:

Pakistan’s Vision 2025 and

Need for Technological Development

1. Sustained Indigenous Inclusive

Growth;

2. Energy, Food & Water Security;

3. Democratic Governance Institutional

Reform and Modernization of Public

Sector;

4. Human and Social Capital;

5. Private Sector Led Growth;

6. Developing a Competitive Knowledge

Economy Through Value Addition;

7. Modernize Infrastructure and

Strengthen Regional Connectivity.

Role of Technology Parks

in Pakistan’s Vision 2025

Pakistan’s Vision 2025 plans to establish

Technology Parks to provide a platform for Govt.

Academia & Private Sector collaboration to foster,

capitalize on and intensify R&D in order to increase

economy’s competitiveness in a regional/global

context,. It acts as a point of convergence for S&T

and innovation policies in the pursuit of developing

a knowledge economy

(Ref. pp 81, Vision 2025, Government of Pakistan)

.

• The infrastructure built under BRI will work as Main Artery for

Knowledge/Technology Transfer from and to the cities

attached to it.

• The Technology Parks being/to be built along the BRI Routes

will work as Knowledge and Technology Feeding Institutions

and will ultimately change these trade routes into Knowledge

Highways.

• The Universities and R&D Institutions attached to the

Technology Park will find BRI (through these Technology

Parks) as an excellent medium to pitch their knowledge

ideas/products to a very wider number of well connected and

easily accessible league of around 70 nations;

• These efforts will help build collaborative linkages and

intellectual connectivity which symbolise the spirit of global

cooperation;

Technology Parks and BRI

Establishment of Technology Parks in Pakistan

HEC Vision 2025

During Yr. 2017-2020, HEC’s plans to:

• Establish Five (5) Industrial &

Technology Parks One in each

Province

• Establish ORICs at 130 Universities;

• Increase R & D funding for universities;

• Establish 100 new business &

technology centres;

• Increased Int’l collaboration with

China, Korea, EU and Turkey for

research programmes in

microelectronics, aerospace, materials,

ICTs, auto mobile industry, etc.

1. Establishment of 2 CPEC Universities (Gawadar & Zhob)

2. Establishment of CPEC Consortium of Business Schools (10

Chinese + 9 Pakistani Universities);

3. Establishment of CPEC University Alliance;

4. Establishment of CPEC Integrated Study Center at Punjab

University, Lahore;

5. Establishment of Centre for Integrated Research, Technology and

Complete Solutions at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

6. Establishment of Technical Training Institutes on the Route of

CPEC;

7. Establishment of China Pakistan Joint Research Center on Earth

Sciences (with cooperation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)).

* China Pakistan Economic Corridor

Initiatives in Higher Education Sector under CPEC*

Pakistan has established a few and is establishing a good

number of STP/IT Parks in different parts of the country:

1. Arfa Software Technology Park, Lahore (Punjab I.T. Board,

Govt. of Punjab - Functional)

2. Lahore Knowledge Park, Lahore (Higher Education Deptt.

Govt. of Punjab – in Planning Phase)

3. NUST S&T Technology Park, Islamabad (NUST, Higher

Education Commission – in Planning Phase))

4. CIIT – Technology Park, Islamabad (CIIT, Ministry of S&T –

in Planning Phase))

5. IT Park, Islamabad (Ministry of IT – in Planning Phase)

6. CPEC IT Park, Peshawar (Govt. of KP – in Planning Phase)

7. Sindh IT Industrial Park, Sindh (Govt. of Sindh – in

Planning Phase).

8. Incubation Centre and Software Technology Park,

Peshawar ( KP – IT Board and PTCL Pakistan)

Existing Science and Technology Parks in

Pakistan (Functional / Planned)

Existing I.T. / Software Technology Parks

in Pakistan

Pakistan has established 14 I.T Parks under different initiatives of

Pakistan Software Export Board:

1. Aiwan e Iqbal Software

Technology Park,

2. Shaheen Complex Software

Technology Park,

3. Anjuman Himayat e Islam

Software Technology Park,

4. Netsol IT Village,

5. JGC Descon Software

Technology Park,

6. Imran House Software

Technology Park,

7. TRG Complex Software

Technology Park,

8. Systems Software

Technology Park,

9. Awami Markaz Software

Technology Park,

10. Evacuee Trust Complex

Software Technology Park,

11. KSL Software Technology

Park,

12. Rose Center Software

Technology Park,

13. Meridian Software

Technology Park,

14. Tariq Center.

Pakistan is planning to establish 46 Special

Economic Zones alongside the CPEC Route;

9 have already been Prioritized during the 6th

Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) Meeting

held in Dec. 2016;

Special Economic Zones in

Pakistan (Functional / Planning)

Profile of Technology Park

at the

COMSATS Institute of Information

Technology, Islamabad

• Businesses: MNCs, Domestic Cos,

and Startups in Various

Combinations;

• Knowledge Provider: University

Research and Education

Infrastructure, Applied Research

Laboratories, Facilities usually

provided by public entities;

• Industry Support Services:

Business Incubators and

Entrepreneur Development Areas

Usually Managed by Private

Operators;

• Financial Support Services:

Venture Capital, Regional

Development Agencies or Banks.

CIIT – Technology Park

Functional Components

• Innovation Lots: to individuals,

entrepreneurs, scientists,

innovators and start-up

companies at pre-production

stage.

• Incubator Lots: to individuals

and companies expanding from

the experimental and pre-

production stage through to

market testing and production.

• Enterprise Lots: to entitles or

R&D units of large local and

multi-national enterprise

emerging from the innovation &

incubator stages.

Business Model

CIIT – Technology Park

Prospective Tanents• Start-up Businesses / Small

Cos mainly Knowledge Based

Ventures;

• Start-up Cos. R&D Based

Products;

• Technology Based Cos.;

• Small - Medium Sized Cos.;

• Multinational Cos. and Large

Cos.;

• Service Cos. (training,

marketing, networking, public

relations, community

services); and

• Hospitality, Recreational and

shopping entities.

• ICTs;

• Electrical & Electronics Engg;

• IoTs; and

• More disciplines would be

added in the subsequent

phases of its development.

Focus Areas

Phased DevelopmentCIIT Technology Park to be

Completed in 3 Phases:

Feasibility Study: (6 Months).

•Phase – I: (Year 1-3);

•Phase – II: (Year 4-6);

•Phase – III: (Year 7-10).

Thank You