Public-private partnership aims to strengthen local data hosting, cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure while creating high-value technology jobs

KARACHI: The Sindh government and CMPak, which operates Zong in Pakistan, have agreed to collaborate on establishing an AI-ready Tier-III data centre in Karachi under a public-private partnership.

The understanding emerged during a meeting between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and CMPak Chairman and CEO Huo Junli at the Chief Minister’s House.

According to officials, CMPak informed the chief minister that the proposed facility would require substantially higher and uninterrupted electricity supplies compared with conventional telecommunications infrastructure.

CMPak Seeks Reliable Power Infrastructure

Consequently, the company sought provincial assistance for an industrial electricity tariff, enhanced grid capacity, dual power feeds for redundancy and priority facilitation for the project.

Shah assured CMPak of provincial support and directed relevant departments to examine the proposals. Moreover, he asked officials to consider shifting applicable electricity tariffs from the commercial to industrial category and accelerating necessary approvals.

The chief minister said advanced digital infrastructure could strengthen Pakistan’s technological sovereignty while positioning Karachi as a regional destination for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data-hosting investments.

Project Targets Pakistan’s Growing Digital Economy

Meanwhile, CMPak officials said the company serves more than 55 million subscribers in Pakistan and has invested over $3 billion in the country. They added that CMPak has launched 5G services in more than 20 cities.

Huo said the proposed Karachi facility could become an important component of Pakistan’s digital ecosystem by providing secure local data hosting, advanced cloud services and infrastructure for artificial intelligence applications.

Furthermore, the project would support enterprise digital transformation and provide reliable infrastructure for businesses, government institutions and emerging technologies.

Shah said Sindh welcomed strategic technology investments capable of generating skilled employment, encouraging entrepreneurship and improving competitiveness.

He added that Karachi’s strategic location, connectivity and growing demand for digital services made the city increasingly attractive for major technology and data infrastructure projects.