Punjab CM Maryam announces plan to transform Lahore into digital city

BEIJING: In a recent move towards development, Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif announced plans to develop Lahore as the first truly smart city in Pakistan jointly with Huawei Technologies.

CM Maryam and Huawei’s President of Government Affairs, Wang Chengdong, met during CM Maryam’s recent trip to China to discuss proposals for modernizing Lahore into a digital city.

The collaboration intends to take advantage of Huawei’s telecommunications, electronics, and digitalization expertise to make “Digital Punjab” a reality.

CM Maryam expressed an interest in Huawei’s work in health and education and also mentioned the great success of the Safe City Project in Lahore that had been developed with Huawei. She also beckoned Huawei to invest in Pakistan, especially Punjab, offering them full cooperation regarding the establishment of their office in Nawaz Sharif IT City.

The partnership is likely to benefit the province’s first AI university, which will nurture graduates with Huawei’s professional skills.

Moreover, CM Maryam sought to have Huawei help build capacity and do IT research at the Nawaz Sharif IT City for the purpose of helping bridge Punjab youth to the way of modern technologies. Additionally, she proposed setting up Huawei retail offices and after-sales service centers all around Punjab along with assembly and manufacturing plants in the province.

The discussions included a wide-ranging exchange of topics such as e-commerce, ecosystem production, and digitalization of health and education departments. This collaboration is more than likely to change the lives of the digital landscape of Lahore into become a benchmark for other cities in Pakistan.