KARACHI: The government planned to contribute more than three per cent of GDP to the development of IT/Telecom sector, said Noman Sehgal, Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh on IT.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the international conference and trade exhibition of IT and telecom industry, ConnectIT 2005 here on Thursday, he said that the country was likely to attract investment of up to $4 billion in the telecom industry in next five years.

He said the Sindh government was taking various steps to boost the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and working towards the development of human resource in this crucial sector to strengthen the economy.

Sehgal revealed the government would soon set up a computerized camera system in all the sensitive and public places and provide all police stations with computers so that First Information Report (FIR) is made available online across Pakistan, providing rapid and accurate access to criminal records.

Adviser to the CM also said that the government had planned to build 90,000 square feet IT park in which talented hardware and software engineers would set up their digital shops and companies.

In this regard, he said that easy loan would be issued to deserving professionals who wanted to invest in this IT/Telecom industry.

Talking to newsmen, he said that the EDO IT would be appointed for 23 districts of Sindh to supervise forty IT professionals in the province whereas 400 IT professionals would be posted exclusively in Karachi.

Managing Director Pegasus Consultancy, Asim Siddiqi said the exhibition focuses on trade of IT and Telecom industries. He said the conference expresses the talent of local software professional and entrepreneurs and attracted participation from 11 countries.

CONNECTit Exhibition and Conference saw participation from Hong Kong, China, India, Egypt, Malaysia, UK, USA, UAE, China, Spain, Turkey and Singapore.

A large assortment of Telecommunications, Call Centre Services and Technology equipment, Data Storage, Network Management and multimedia equipment & services was on display at the exhibition.