Pakistan moves ahead with PakSat-2 and Geo-AI initiatives as the government expands its focus on space technology, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has moved ahead with two major technology initiatives worth a combined Rs 40.8 billion under the government’s Uraan Pakistan development framework, covering the PakSat-2 Satellite System and a Geo-AI Development and Innovation Hub.
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP), chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, reviewed the projects as part of efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s capabilities in space technology, artificial intelligence and digital innovation.
The PakSat-2 Satellite System, estimated at Rs 37.19 billion, was recommended to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration. The CDWP also approved the GEOSPATIALx COMPLEx (Geo-AI Development & Innovation Hub), with an estimated cost of Rs 3.62 billion.
Ahsan Iqbal said the development of Pakistan’s space program was an important pillar of Uraan Pakistan, with PakSat-2 expected to strengthen the country’s satellite and broader space capabilities.
The Geo-AI hub is intended to promote the use of geospatial technologies and artificial intelligence in research, planning, innovation and digital applications. The two initiatives are part of a broader effort to build capacity in advanced technologies and strengthen Pakistan’s research and digital infrastructure.
The CDWP also considered the Federal Board of Revenue’s Transforming and Digitalizing Revenue Administration (TADRA) project, valued at Rs 57.11 billion, and recommended it to ECNEC for further consideration.
The TADRA project is proposed to be financed with support from the Asian Development Bank. It aims to modernize tax administration, broaden the taxpayer base and support efforts to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio to 13.5% by 2029.
The meeting also reviewed initiatives aimed at strengthening national research and technology capacity, including a delayed center that was originally approved in 2018.
Seven national technology centers covering Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Big Data and Cloud Computing, GIS and Satellite Technology, Automation and Robotics, Applied Mathematics, and Livestock and Genomics have already been completed.
Ahsan Iqbal directed that the remaining center be updated to address newer emerging fields. He also called for similar facilities to be established at universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan.
The minister further emphasized upgrading laboratories at engineering universities and strengthening links between academic research, innovation and commercialization.
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