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ISLAMABAD: Imperial College London on Tuesday rejected a claim by the provincial administration of Punjab that it would open an overseas campus in the eastern city of Lahore as part of the planned Nawaz Sharif IT City.

A flagship infrastructure project spanning about 853 acres near Bedian Road, the initiative aims to serve as an education and tech hub with commercial and residential zones.

The provincial government announced last week that Imperial College would be established in the same vicinity, with a foundation stone to be laid in November.

“Reports that Imperial College London plans to open a campus overseas are incorrect,” the UK-based institution said on its website.

“There have been erroneous reports in the media and online that Imperial is opening a campus at Nawaz Sharif IT City in Lahore, Pakistan,” it added. “Imperial has no such plans, with all the university’s campuses based in the UK.”

Nawaz Sharif IT City is backed by the Punjab administration of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz who has named the initiative after her father who previously served three times as the country’s prime minister.

The project promises to make Lahore a major regional hub for technology, education and innovation.

Senior Punjab Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in a social media post on October 18 the chief minister had chaired a meeting in which “important decisions were made.”

“An Imperial College London campus will be established in Nawaz Sharif IT City, which will also include a state-of-the-art 300-bed hospital,” she said. “The foundation stone for the project will be laid in November.”

“The Chief Minister directed that the Central Business District Project, Ravi Urban Development Authority, and Nawaz Sharif IT City be completed as soon as possible,” she added. 

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government has rolled out new energy-efficient building codes and insulation models aimed at cutting power demand during peak summer months and improving industrial competitiveness, officials said on Wednesday.

The move comes as Pakistan continues to face chronic energy shortfalls and soaring demand during the summer, when industrial and household electricity use typically overwhelms the grid. The country relies heavily on imported fossil fuels, which contribute to high power generation costs and recurring balance-of-payments pressures. Energy experts have long urged greater investment in conservation and efficiency to reduce dependence on expensive imports and stabilize supplies.

On Wednesday, the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) briefed Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Industry and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan on new energy-saving technologies for homes and factories, underscoring the importance of sustainable building design in lowering national energy costs.

“Modern technology and sustainable energy are the need of the hour for Pakistan,” Khan was quoted as saying in a statement. “Insulation in buildings offers an effective solution to lower transmission costs and energy demand during summer.”

NTDC Chairman told the meeting insulation helps maintain optimal indoor temperatures and significantly reduces electricity consumption. He added that Pakistan has already introduced building energy-use codes, and implementation has begun under federal directives.

Khan said the government’s energy policy was directly linked to the country’s economic growth, noting that “GDP expansion depends on how efficiently we manage energy costs.”

He directed the Engineering Development Board to work with NTDC to monitor progress on the initiative and report developments to the federal cabinet.

Officials said the push for sustainable energy use is part of broader reforms to stabilize Pakistan’s power sector, which faces chronic supply shortages, high costs, and rising summer demand. The initiative also aligns with Pakistan’s commitments to adopt climate-resilient practices and reduce energy waste across industrial and residential sectors.

A delegation from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) also invited Khan to attend the upcoming Asia Transit Summit 2025, where energy efficiency and green infrastructure will be key discussion topics.