The federal government has proposed an allocation of Rs. 16.29 billion for ongoing projects under the Information Technology and Telecommunication Division in the Public Sector Development Programme for fiscal year 2026-27, sustaining a portfolio of digital infrastructure, innovation, and technology development initiatives already under active implementation across the country against a total portfolio cost of Rs. 79.79 billion.
The Technology Park Development Project in Islamabad has received the largest individual allocation within the portfolio at Rs. 6.81 billion for the next financial year, reflecting its status as the government’s most advanced and commercially significant technology infrastructure project currently under construction. The facility, which has reached 72 percent physical completion, is designed to create a modern technology ecosystem for software companies, startups, and research institutions, and the continued funding is expected to support its progression toward completion and eventual operation. The second major infrastructure project in the portfolio, the establishment of an Information Technology Park in Karachi under the Pakistan Software Export Board, has been allocated Rs. 3.75 billion, with the Karachi facility still at an early stage of physical development following the resolution of Civil Aviation Authority-related design revisions that had previously delayed the procurement process.
The Digital Economy Enhancement Project, supported by the World Bank, has received a proposed allocation of Rs. 3.02 billion, supporting a range of digital economy strengthening measures across multiple government agencies and sectors. Beyond these three headline projects, the PSDP proposals include Rs. 1 billion for the Revamping of Information Technology Industry initiative, Rs. 524.64 million for the National Artificial Intelligence Advancement Initiative, Rs. 330 million for Cyber Security for Digital Pakistan, and Rs. 250 million for the National Semiconductor Human Resource Development Programme, which is focused on building local expertise in an area of growing strategic and economic importance globally. Additional allocations have also been proposed for the Smart Islamabad Initiative, the expansion of cellular services in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan under the Special Communications Organisation, and compliance and export enhancement programmes under the Pakistan Software Export Board, collectively completing a budget package that spans infrastructure, talent, security, and connectivity across Pakistan’s digital development agenda for the coming fiscal year.
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