en.Wedoany.com Reported - The federal government of Pakistan has allocated 19.58 billion rupees for 13 ongoing and new projects in the information technology and communication sector, with the Smart Islamabad Initiative (SII) being one of the key programs. Led by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and executed by the National Information Technology Board (NITB), the project aims to transform Islamabad into a digitally integrated, citizen-centric smart city through a centralized Fusion Centre.

The Fusion Centre will integrate real-time data from agencies such as the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Safe City Islamabad, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for public safety, traffic control, waste management, and air quality monitoring. The project will also incorporate municipal services such as residence certificates, property tax, and registration into a unified national digital ecosystem. Due to severe funding shortages, project implementation was temporarily stalled, with physical progress currently at approximately 20%. Although the initial budget for Fusion Centre equipment was 708.3 million rupees, the equipment bid alone exceeded 1 billion rupees. The National Information Technology Board has applied for an additional 208 million rupees for the fiscal year 2026-27 and is revising the project's PC-1 document to seek an increase in total allocation to between 1 billion and 1.5 billion rupees. The government has allocated 250 million rupees for the fiscal year 2026-27. New projects include the National AI Ecosystem Development Programme and the Pakawaz Secure Mobile Communication Ecosystem, with 185 million rupees and 100 million rupees reserved for the fiscal year 2026-27, respectively.

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