ISLAMABAD: The World Bank’s USD70 million Connected Punjab Programme has yet to become effective, with financing and implementation agreements still unsigned, delaying key institutional and regulatory preparations for expanding broadband access, artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled public services and cashless transactions in the province.
According to the Bank’s document, the programme has secured approval of the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) for improving broadband connectivity and digital service delivery, but several critical preparatory measures remain pending.
The document noted that the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) had secured PDWP approval for PC-Is covering the first two results areas. However, the financing agreement (FA) and implementation entity agreement (IEA) had not yet been signed, while approval of the PC-I for cashless transactions and the investment project financing (IPF) component remained a priority.
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Approved on June 30, 2026, the programme aims to increase broadband internet access, improve digital service delivery and expand cashless transactions across Punjab. It is scheduled to close on June 30, 2031.
The Bank has rated progress towards the programme’s development objectives and overall implementation progress as “moderately satisfactory”, with the overall risk rating assessed as moderate.
Under the broadband component, the programme aims to increase the population covered by fixed broadband internet from 7.8 million in April 2026 to 9.9 million by July 2031. It also seeks to identify 82 target urbanised areas for broadband coverage and enable USD50 million in private capital.
The programme further envisages reducing the average processing time for right-of-way (RoW) permits from 90 days to 21 days by June 2031. The number of agencies processing such permits through a digital platform is targeted to reach 40.
However, the government must establish procedures for reimbursement or waiver of RoW and reinstatement fees by January 31, 2027, and enable Punjab’s e-Biz portal to process RoW applications, including reimbursement criteria and grievance redressal, by December 2027.
The digital service delivery component also faces a substantial institutional agenda. The government is required to establish an AI Oversight Committee with citizen representation by June 2027, develop a programme manual governing AI use cases, and adopt a provincial AI-for-service-delivery roadmap by December 2027.
A data governance framework is due by December 2027, while a personal data protection strategy and cybersecurity strategy are scheduled for approval and notification by June 2028.
The programme targets 28 AI-enabled services by June 2031, with 100 percent of public and private sector participants using compute-as-a-service for localised AI development. It also aims to raise the share of women using digitally enabled government-to-citizen services from 19 percent in March 2026 to 30 percent.
Under the cashless transactions component, the province aims to bring 350,000 people onto cashless payments by June 2031, including 105,000 women and 157,500 young people.
The targets also include establishing a regulatory framework for point-of-sale (PoS) service providers, operationalising a digital invoice management system and expanding integrated digital PoS payment platforms to 35 business sectors.
The report identified the need to expedite approval of the relevant PC-I, while the development of PoS device certification procedures and a strategic plan for cashless adoption remain among the programme’s prescribed actions.
The World Bank’s first implementation review reflects the programme’s early stage, with the financing still reported as not effective and no disbursements recorded against the revised allocation of USD69.25 million as of the reporting period.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026