Lahore to be transformed into Pakistan’s first Smart City

BEIJING: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced plans to develop Lahore as Pakistan’s first state-of-the-art smart city in collaboration with Huawei Technologies.

On the fourth day of her China visit, CM Maryam visited Huawei Technologies in Shanghai’s Longgang District, where she received a warm welcome.

During the meeting, she invited Huawei to invest in Pakistan, especially Punjab, and offered full cooperation for establishing an office in the Nawaz Sharif IT City. She also assured support for setting up assembly and manufacturing plants in the province and proposed the establishment of Huawei retail offices and after-sales service centers across Punjab.

The CM met with Huawei’s President of Government Affairs, Wang Chengdong, to discuss proposals for modernizing Lahore as a digital city. She also extended an invitation to him to visit Lahore. Discussions covered various areas, including e-commerce, ecosystem production, and the digitalization of health and education departments.

Mr. Wang Chengdong briefed the CM and her delegation about Huawei’s projects in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab, and shared updates on ongoing initiatives.

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Maryam Nawaz expressed interest in Huawei’s health and education sector projects and highlighted the Safe City projects underway in Punjab. She emphasized that the partnership with Huawei would bring the vision of “Digital Punjab” to life.

“We want to leverage Huawei’s expertise in telecommunications, electronics, and digitalization,” said the CM, adding that the province’s first AI university would also benefit from Huawei’s professional skills.

She further called for Huawei’s support in capacity building and IT research at the Nawaz Sharif IT City, aiming to familiarize Punjab’s youth with cutting-edge digital technologies. She also sought Huawei’s assistance in ecosystem development, highlighting the successful Safe City project in Lahore, developed in collaboration with Huawei.

The CM toured various facilities of Huawei Technologies, including the factory, and discussed avenues for further collaboration with company officials.