The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Choi JongKu, “Korea Eximbank") announced on March 22 that the Bank will provide USD 76 million EDCF* loans to fund the "Establishment of the IT Park Project" in Pakistan.

* The Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) was established by the Korean government in 1987 to promote economic exchanges with the developing world and to assist developing countries in achieving industrialization and economic stability through the provision of long-term, low-interest credit. Korea Eximbank currently manages the fund as its trustee. A total of USD 13.2 billion in EDCF loans (commitment basis) has been provided to 375 projects in 53 countries as of the end of 2016.

Chang Young-Hoon, the Head of Economic Development Cooperation Fund Group at Korea Eximbank, met with Deputy Minister of Finance, Revenue, Economic Affairs, Statistics and Privatization of Pakistan, Tariq Mahmood Pasha on March 21 in Islamabad, Pakistan and signed the Loan Agreement.

Establishment of the IT Park Project which will be conducted in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is one of the top-priority projects that the Pakistani government has been focusing on.

The aims of the project are to build an IT industrial complex to more efficiently support small-and medium-sized software companies and thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the IT industry of the country, so that it can benefit from the so-called agglomeration effect.

Although the IT industry is considered the most rapidly growing sector in Pakistan, it is in urgent need of sufficient work space and ICT infrastructure that are essential for growth.

Once the IT Park building is open for operation, it will be a landmark for Pakistan's IT sector, serving to improve the working environment of IT SMEs, and contributing to upgrading the competitive position of the IT industry of the nation, taking the advantage of industry-academia cooperation and synergies created among the businesses in the sector, etc.

Since this EDCF-funded project will adopt the IT technologies of Korea, including communication networks and data centers, forming a Korean-style industrial complex model, once the project is completed, the cooperative relationship between Korea and Pakistan will be further solidified.

A Korean Eximbank official remarked, "As Pakistan is expected to set up more techno-complexes modeling on this project, EDCF's support for this project will bring more opportunities to Korean companies' expansion into the Pakistani market."