IT Department to operate IT Park

KATHMANDU, Jan 6: The government has handed over the responsibility of overseeing the management of the IT Park to the IT Department, in yet another attempt to make proper utilization of the eight-year-old entity that was supposed to establish itself as a hive of IT companies.



The decision comes at the time when the Ministry of Education (MoE) has asked the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MoEST) to hand the Park over to it to build Open University.[break]



Speaking to Republica on Sunday, MoEST Secretary Keshab Bhattarai said a recent ministerial level meeting decided to shift the IT Department to the IT Park in Kavre so that a fresh process can be launched for its operation.



“Once the IT Department is shifted to the Park it will come up with plans to start the Park´s operation. The department will also be responsible for overall management of the Park,” he said.



Bhattarai said the initiative was taken as existing policies have failed to address problems faced by the Park built at a cost of over Rs 300 million. “We have received some proposals from the private sector too, but none of them were practical,” he added.



The IT Department, currently located at the premises of MoEST, was formed a year ago after dissolution of the High Level Commission for Information and Technology.



Bhattarai said the department was designing a proposal to lure interested IT-related organizations and corporate houses to shift their offices to the business block of the IT Park. “Many organizations have shown interest, but we have not been able to allocate space to them so far,” he said. “Once the department starts its work from the premises of the Park, majority of the issues would be resolved.”



Apart from looking over the management of the IT Park, the department will also launch a drive to make government offices more IT friendly and work as a supporting agency for the private sector.



The recent ministerial level meeting, meanwhile, also decided to allocate a small area within the business complex of the IT Park to the Ministry of Education. “We have decided to provide some space, instead of the entire park, to the education ministry, until its builds its own infrastructure,” he said.



Likewise, the MoEST has also decided to establish a nuclear technology centre and bio-technology center, and shift its environment department to the administrative block of the IT Park.



Bhattarai said the establishment of both the centers will add new dimension to the science and technology sector of the country. “The centers will work toward promoting related technologies and research and development activities,” Bhattarai said.

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