The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved $70 million in financing for the Connected Punjab Programme (CPP) to help the province expand broadband internet access, improve digital service delivery and enhance cashless transactions, it emerged on Wednesday.

A World Bank press release issued a day ago said the programme was designed to operate alongside the country’s broader national digital agenda.

The federal government is investing in national digital public infrastructure through the Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP), while the Connected Punjab Programme builds on those foundations to ensure national platforms, policies and connectivity investments translate into benefits for citizens and businesses across the province.

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

“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,” she said, adding that expanding broadband access and strengthening Punjab’s digital backbone would open new opportunities for citizens, particularly women and young people, while improving access to public services.

According to the press release, the programme would address regulatory and cost barriers that limited private sector investment in broadband infrastructure, particularly in underserved urban areas. It aimed to reduce average Right-of-Way permitting processing times from 90 days to 21 days, expand fixed broadband coverage from 7.8 million to 9.9 million people by June 2031, bring about 2.1 million additional people online, and facilitate at least $50 million in private capital investment in digital infrastructure.

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The programme would also support investment in government computing infrastructure to strengthen institutional capacity and enable provincial and local agencies to develop and deliver AI-enabled public services at scale. By June 2031, it aims to provide enhanced digitally enabled public services to 28.9 million people, while increasing the share of women using digital government services from 19% to 30%.

The press release said the programme also sought to reduce Punjab’s reliance on cash transactions by establishing a Digital Invoice Management System and creating an interoperable payment infrastructure linking payments, invoices and government reporting. It targets 350,000 active users of 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.

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He said the Connected Punjab Programme complemented federal investments by expanding fibre connectivity through private sector facilitation, deploying locally relevant AI-enabled services and building a digital payments ecosystem that supports formalisation and inclusive growth across the province.

“Together, these investments form a coherent and mutually reinforcing digital transformation agenda for Pakistan,” he said.

The $70 million financing from the World Bank’s International Development Association forms part of a broader government investment programme valued at $278 million, including $208 million in counterpart funding from the Punjab government.