World Bank approves $70mn for Connected Punjab

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $70 million for the Connected Punjab Program to help Pakistan’s Punjab province expand broadband internet access, improve digital service delivery, and enhance cashless transactions.

The program is designed to operate in tandem with Pakistan’s broader national digital agenda. The federal government is investing in national digital public infrastructure through the Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP).

The Connected Punjab Program builds directly on these foundations, ensuring that national platforms, policies, and connectivity investments translate into tangible benefits for Punjab’s citizens and businesses.

“Digital connectivity is no longer a luxury, it is the infrastructure of opportunity, ”said Bolormaa Amgaabazar, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.

“The federal government has laid out a bold vision for Pakistan’s digital future, and Connected Punjab is how that vision reaches the doorsteps of millions of people across the province. By expanding broadband access and strengthening Punjab’s digital backbone, the program will open new doors for citizens, especially women and youth, to participate more fully in the economy and access better public services.”

The program will help tackle the regulatory and cost barriers that currently limit private sector investment in broadband infrastructure, particularly in underserved urban areas. By reducing average Right-of-Way permitting processing times from 90 days to 21 days, the program aims to facilitate private sector expansion of fixed broadband coverage from 7.8 million to 9.9 million people by June 2031 - bringing approximately 2.1 million additional people online - and to enable at least US$50 million in private capital investment in digital infrastructure.

Another area of focus is shared digital infrastructure and institutional capacity to support scalable, AI-enabled public service delivery across Punjab’s provincial and local agencies.

The program will support investments in government computing infrastructure, giving public agencies the tools to develop and run AI-powered services and deliver them to citizens at scale.

By June 2031, the program aims to reach 28.9 million people through enhanced digitally enabled public services.

A key focus is on women. The program aims to increase the share of women using digital government services from 19% to 30%.

Finally, the program also focuses on the regulatory and systems foundations needed to reduce Punjab’s reliance on cash transactions. By establishing a Digital Invoice Management System and creating interoperable payment infrastructure linking payments, invoices, and government reporting, the program aims to have 350,000 people actively using cashless payment systems by June 2031.

“Pakistan’s newly developed Digital and AI Compact sets the national direction, and DEEP is building the digital public infrastructure backbone at the federal level,” said Shahbaz Khan, Senior Digital Specialist at the World Bank in Pakistan.

“Connected Punjab is the provincial expression of that same ambition, complementing federal investments by expanding fiber connectivity through private sector facilitation, deploying locally relevant AI-enabled services, and building a digital payments ecosystem that supports formalization and inclusive growth across the province. Together, these investments form a coherent and mutually reinforcing digital transformation agenda for Pakistan.”

The US$70 million IDA financing forms part of a broader government investment program valued at US$278 million, with US$208 million in counterpart funding from the Government of Punjab.