IT Ministry Demands More Development Funds Next Fiscal Year

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has demanded a high budget despite a significant lapse in funds for the Karachi IT Park project for the financial year 2025-26 under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP). According to official documents seen by ProPakistani, the total cost of the project stands at Rs. 31.19 billion, but so far, only Rs. 837.9 million has been spent. The project has achieved only 10 percent physical progress and merely 2 percent financial progress, raising concerns over its sluggish implementation. Despite the slow pace, the IT Ministry has sought a significant allocation for the upcoming fiscal year. The documents reveal that the Karachi IT Park project is being executed under the PSDP but has shown minimal progress. The project is backed by substantial foreign aid amounting to Rs. 26.47 billion. For the current financial year, a budget of Rs. 6.08 billion was allocated, yet only Rs. 837.9 million has been utilized, resulting in a high budget lapse. According to the document, the project’s design phase has been completed by the Korean Design Consortium, and the Request for Proposal (RFP) for contractor selection has been approved by the Exim Bank. The Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) has submitted a position paper through the IT Ministry to the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives for approval to initiate the procurement process. Once completed, the Karachi IT Park is expected to become a state-of-the-art facility spanning 110,000 square meters on six acres of land. The project includes 240 offices, an incubation center with 30 startup offices, a business development center, an industry-academia collaboration center, a data center, and R&D labs. It is projected to generate 9,000 direct IT jobs and over 10,000 indirect employment opportunities, significantly contributing to Pakistan’s digital economy. Titled “Establishment of IT Park, Karachi,” the project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on June 4, 2021, at a total cost of Rs. 41.39 billion ($186.66 million). The funding includes a Rs. 35.13 billion ($158.41 million) loan from the Korean Exim Bank and a local share of Rs. 6.25 billion ($28.24 million) from PSDP. Federal IT Minister Syed Amin ul Haque laid the foundation stone for Pakistan’s largest IT park in Karachi in November 2022.