World Bank flags implementation gaps in USD69.16m project

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has flagged slow financial disbursement and a series of implementation gaps in Pakistan’s USD 69.16 million Digital Economy Enhancement Project, with only USD 8.36 million, or 12.09 percent, disbursed so far, despite the project becoming effective more than two years ago.

According to the World Bank’s document, the project has a total revised financing of USD 69.16 million, of which USD 60.80 million remains undisbursed. The project was approved in March 2024 and became effective in May 2024, with its closing date set for July 31, 2028.

The Bank, however, maintained that its overall assessment of the project is “Moderately Satisfactory”, both for progress towards the development objective and overall implementation progress, while the overall risk rating remains “Moderate”.

The project aims to enhance the government’s capacity for digitally enabled public service delivery to citizens and businesses. It comprises four components, including improving digital economy, governance, and service delivery capabilities with an estimated cost of USD 58 million, development of the Pakistan Business Portal costing USD 15 million, and project management costing USD 5 million.

Despite the slow financial progress, the Bank acknowledged important advances in establishing digital public infrastructure.

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has issued 2.3 million Digital IDs, while 6.5 million transactions have been processed through the National Data Exchange Layer. The PakID Vault has also enabled 11 types of verifiable credentials, while the Enterprise Architecture Framework has been completed and the Data Governance Policy has been disclosed for public consultation.

However, the World Bank said the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT), working under the institutional arrangements created through the Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025, needs to prepare a time-bound service prioritisation and onboarding strategy with the Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA), federal and provincial governments.

The strategy is required to cover the next six months, one year, and two years.

The ministry also needs to publish the Enterprise Architecture Framework along with an adoption roadmap and formally adopt and operationalise the Data Governance Policy and Interoperability Framework. Completion of the feasibility study for the National Fiberisation Plan is another outstanding requirement.

The report shows that transactions through the National Data Exchange Layer stood at 650,000 in August 2026, against a closing-period target of 13.333 million. Six entities have so far been integrated with the national data exchanger, against a target of 40 by November 2027.

Private-sector integration also remains at an early stage, with only one private-sector entity integrated with the national data exchange layer against a target of 13.

Meanwhile, 11 verifiable credentials can currently be stored in the digital vault, against a target of 40, while 18 services are available on the national citizen services portal against a target of 20.

The Pakistan Business Portal is also yet to process any Registration, Licenses, Certificates and Other (RLCOs) transactions, whereas the project targets 4,000 annual transactions by November 2027. Similarly, B2G payments and RLCO services made online remain at zero against a target of 50 percent.

The documents further noted that women accounted for 9.2 percent of users of digitally enabled services, against a closing-period target of 30 percent, while data on youth users was not currently available.—TAHIR AMIN