‘Work on Knowledge Park to start soon’

LAHORE: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lahore Knowledge Park Company (LKPC) Dr Zubair Iqbal Ghouri has said that civil works at the site of the LKP is expected to begin shortly under which basic infrastructure, boundary wall, watch towers and entry gates will be constructed. 

At a media briefing on Tuesday, he said LKPC had been established as a separate corporate entity by the Punjab government to evolve a planning, undertake and oversee the development of 4th generation knowledge and growth parks at suitable localities in the province.

“Incorporated in October, 2014, as a not-for-profit, large-scale public sector company, registered under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 and wholly owned by the Punjab Higher Education Department, LKPC owns 852 acres of prime land on Bedian Road, Lahore – the site of Lahore Knowledge Park,” he added.

The Lahore Knowledge Park (LKP) is going to be the first 4th generation technology and growth park of Pakistan. It is aimed at creating synergies between academia, industry, and the government to drive a composite ecosystem of research, innovation and entrepreneurship. As a state-of-the-art development, LKP would host universities and educational institutes, research centres, innovation hubs, business services zone, green areas and a central zone to offer all the features of a modern lifestyle, he added. 

The project is a high-tech development that embodies the vision of the chief minister to make Punjab and by extension Pakistan, Asia’s premier destination for the global knowledge economy.

The Punjab government has allocated 852 acre prime land valued at more than half a billion USD, adjacent to an upscale housing complex of Lahore, to host the first technopolis of the country. The government has also approved substantial funding for complete infrastructure development and construction of buildings at the Lahore Knowledge Park.  

Dr Zubair Iqbal Ghouri said Lahore Knowledge Park had an advance level talks with a consortium of three Italian universities, including Politecnico di Torino, University of Bologna and Politecnico di Bari. As part of the proposed arrangement, Italian faculty would be fetched to teach at the university, whereas local academicians would be inducted on later stages. Implementation plans are being reviewed by experts on a faster pace as the classes are expected to be initiated in 2018. Pak-Italy University will prove to be a paradigmatic step in the evolution of engineering sciences both at the educational as well as industrial fronts, he added.

Proposal from Kings College Hospital, London to set up Kings College Hospital (KCH), Punjab is in advanced stages of review by the experts, he said and added preliminary consensus had been established to develop a teaching hospital in the first phase. As a plan, KCH at Lahore Knowledge Park Punjab will be offering medical degree programmes and clinical training accredited by Royal College of Surgeons & King’s College Hospital, London. Detailed business planning will be leading to mutually acceptable contractual arrangements in the coming year.

There are vibrant prospects to host Karolinska Cancer Research Institute and Hospital at Lahore Knowledge Park. Currently, the company is in talks with the relevant team at Swedish facility to prepare a prospective partnership package, he concluded.