Technology park
coming to Aley area

Site to host high-tech academy,

light production facility, and incubator

Houmal Technology Park (HTP), a high-tech center and academy, will open in Houmal, near Aley, at the end of 2020.

HTP is owned by Fadi Daou, the founder and CEO of Multilane, a semiconductor company.

The total built-up area of HTP is 22,000 square meters (m2), built on a 24,000 m2 plot of land. Investment in the park is $15 million, excluding the cost of the land.

HTP will comprise a training academy to train fresh graduates on Integrated Circuit Design, to allow them to work effectively in the high-tech industry. “A major part of HTP’s activity is to develop talent to attract multinational companies. We will offer free training to students,” Daou said.

HTP will contain a light production facility, an incubator, and co-working spaces for high-tech multinational companies. It will also include a Research and Development (R&D) department, and a prototype center. “Any tech center or incubator has to be focused on a particular know-how,” Daou said.

The park will also comprise a community center with 45 guest rooms, a conference hall, and an amphitheater. “The guest houses will host the international companies that will visit the park for training and development,” said Daou.

Multilane will move its offices to a 6,000 m2 facility in the park in the coming months. Multilane produces around 10,000 high-tech products per month such as test equipment, and semiconductors.

“My aim is to create a model and a centralized eco-system that can be adopted in the country, generating job opportunities in a non-existent field, and putting the country on the high-tech map.” Daou said.

Daou has established several companies in the US and has later sold them: Telephotonics, FiberGrade and PXIT. He also established ATC-Lebanon then sold it to IPG Photonics, a fiber laser manufacturer.