Islamabad: Pakistan has announced a significant allocation of 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to support Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, a move aimed at attracting foreign investment and building a sovereign digital asset economy. The decision was confirmed in a statement issued by the finance ministry on Sunday.

The initiative, spearheaded by the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC), a body backed by the Ministry of Finance, is part of a broader strategy to repurpose Pakistan’s underutilized energy capacity into a high-value digital infrastructure. Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the PCC, revealed in a recent interview that the government seeks to transform idle power generation into a dynamic digital asset strategy.

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Officials indicate that the initial phase of the plan will focus on leveraging Pakistan’s existing power surplus to fuel compute-intensive operations such as AI processing and cryptocurrency mining. This strategic redirection has been welcomed by experts in the field.

Ahtasam Ahmad, Energy Finance Lead at Renewables First, a Pakistani think tank, commented, “Surplus capacity being redirected towards crypto mining and AI data centres is a welcome development. Also, using clean energy sources like wind and solar allows the government to offer competitive tariffs since the marginal cost of generation is essentially zero for these technologies. Our existing solar and wind plants are underutilised due to dispatch challenges, making this redirection economically sensible.”

With an estimated 20 million crypto users and a population exceeding 250 million, Pakistan presents a vast, untapped digital market. Authorities believe the country’s strategic geographical location, connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, positions it favorably as a hub for data traffic and cloud infrastructure.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb described the initiative as a “pivotal shift in Pakistan’s digital and economic outlook,” emphasizing its potential to convert surplus electricity into “innovation, investment and international revenue.”

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Reports indicate that several international firms have already held exploratory discussions with the PCC, with further delegations expected to visit Pakistan following this announcement. The country’s appeal is bolstered by comparatively lower energy costs and readily available land, factors that often limit scalability in other markets like India and Singapore.

However, Ahtasam Ahmad also advised caution, noting a potential “geographical mismatch” that could limit effectiveness. He explained, “The majority of renewable capacity is installed in the south, while crypto mining and data centres require abundant water resources for cooling, which are primarily available in the north. This creates transmission bottlenecks that could result in limited off-take.”

The power allocation coincides with ongoing improvements to Pakistan’s digital connectivity infrastructure. The recent landing of the Africa-2 submarine cable, a vast 45,000km network linking 33 countries, has significantly expanded bandwidth capacity and reduced latency, crucial for large-scale data center operations.

Looking ahead, longer-term plans involve the development of AI and crypto infrastructure powered by renewable sources such as wind, solar, and hydro, particularly in high-potential zones like the Gharo-Keti Bandar wind corridor. Officials are also exploring various incentives, including tax breaks and duty exemptions, to attract further investment.

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Bilal Bin Saqib, CEO of the PCC, stated that this “energy-backed transformation gives Pakistan an opportunity to generate USD-denominated revenues through mining while laying the groundwork for domestic AI capacity.” He added that Pakistan could eventually explore accumulating Bitcoin in a sovereign digital wallet, shifting from selling power in rupees to holding digital assets as a hedge.

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