Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced the launch of Punjab’s first dedicated data centre, the Punjab Data Lake, and invited Chinese technology companies, investors and infrastructure leaders to invest in the province. She made the announcement while addressing the Big Data Industry Expo 2026 during her visit to China, describing a state level common data engine called OneMap as central to the province’s data infrastructure.
According to Maryam, more than 12 terabytes of geospatial data from 31 departments and over 6,000 datasets are being integrated into a unified system through OneMap. She said the system could support planning, help resolve land related disputes, and promote more informed urban development. She added that the Punjab government is also linking OneMap with the Punjab Socio-Economic Registry to better assess citizens’ needs, target resources more effectively, and ensure services reach the right people, describing the Punjab Data Lake as part of a broader effort to strengthen the province’s sovereign data capabilities.
Maryam said Punjab considers itself the most AI-enabled province in Pakistan and wants to become part of the transformative potential artificial intelligence offers, describing plans to build a digital governance system connecting trusted data with identity, public services, infrastructure, energy, financial systems and economic opportunity. She said the province is working on a sovereign cloud, digital identity, interoperable government systems and an AI-powered implementation system, adding that Punjab was the first province to establish its own dedicated AI Office aimed at improving decision-making, speeding up public services, and increasing transparency and accountability in government. She pointed to the Punjab Safe City project as an example of how integrated systems and AI-based analytics can make cities safer and policing more proactive.
Speaking at the event held in Guiyang, described as China’s Big Data Capital, Maryam invited Chinese companies to partner with Punjab across energy, computing, cloud, connectivity and tokenisation infrastructure supporting the province’s digital future. She said Punjab does not want to remain only a consumer of technology but aims to become an equal partner in technology creation and innovation, framing the visit as part of deepening the broader Pakistan-China relationship into what she described as a new era of data, technology and shared innovation between the two countries.
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