The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has put forward a proposal for Rs. 71.84 billion in Public Sector Development Programme funding for the upcoming fiscal year 2026-27, covering 20 development projects spread across ongoing work and new initiatives. This proposed amount represents a nearly threefold increase compared to the Rs. 22.227 billion earmarked for the current fiscal year, with the ministry seeking to fund both ongoing schemes and a fresh set of new programmes under the same umbrella. Of the total, 12 ongoing projects are proposed at Rs. 32.13 billion while 8 new initiatives account for Rs. 39.71 billion, reflecting an ambitious expansion of the federal government’s technology development footprint heading into the next financial year.
Among the executing agencies, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication itself is seeking the largest share at Rs. 37.79 billion across five distinct projects, which includes two major new initiatives worth Rs. 33.8 billion. The Pakistan Software Export Board follows with a proposed Rs. 24.39 billion targeting seven ongoing projects, though notably the board has put forward no new projects for the upcoming budget cycle. Other agencies including the National Telecom and Information Security Board at Rs. 3.24 billion, IGNITE at Rs. 3 billion for one new initiative, and the National Information Technology Board at Rs. 743 million for three projects round out the agency-level submissions. The flagship Islamabad Information Technology Park project, which has reached 72 percent physical completion and 62 percent financial utilisation with Rs. 14.5 billion already spent against a total project cost of Rs. 23.3 billion, has been allocated a further Rs. 6.73 billion demand for the next fiscal year, with officials projecting the facility will generate over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs upon completion.
In contrast, the Karachi Information Technology Park presents a significantly slower trajectory, with physical progress at only 10 percent and financial utilisation at 5 percent against an estimated project cost of Rs. 31.2 billion, with only Rs. 11.5 million proposed in the upcoming Public Sector Development Programme. Once completed, the Karachi facility is intended to establish a 111,000 square metre technology complex serving small and medium enterprises, startups, and technology professionals in the city. On the startup and innovation side, the government has proposed Rs. 1.802 billion to support the startup and venture ecosystem, with the Pakistan Startup Fund having already operationalised its advisory structure, finalised its grant disbursement mechanism, and placed applications under due diligence, while Bridge Start Pakistan works in parallel with incubators and accelerators to build out the national innovation pipeline. An additional Rs. 1.017 billion has been proposed to drive the National Semiconductor Human Resource Development Programme.
The Special Communications Organisation has also laid out its connectivity expansion agenda, seeking Rs. 2.67 billion across four projects including a cellular expansion phase running through 2027, a new initiative to install 32 cellular sites in unserved and underserved areas costing Rs. 2.5 billion, a new convergent billing system worth Rs. 1.888 billion to enable unified billing across cellular, wireless local loop, long-distance international, cloud, and Fiber to the Home services for up to four million subscribers, and a hybrid power solution valued at Rs. 870 million to cut operational expenditure and maintain uninterrupted services in remote areas. Taken together, the proposed budget reflects a broad federal push to accelerate digital infrastructure development, though the divergence in progress between the Islamabad and Karachi Information Technology Parks also highlights the execution challenges that have historically accompanied large-scale public technology investments in Pakistan.
Follow the SPIN IDG WhatsApp Channel for updates across the Smart Pakistan Insights Network covering all of Pakistan’s technology ecosystem.
