AI Helps Planning Ministry Exceed Project Evaluation Target By 160%

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Sep, 2025) The Planning Ministry’s adoption of artificial intelligence and digital reforms enabled it to surpass its monitoring and evaluation target in August, completing 32 project evaluations against a planned 20, achieving a 160 per cent completion rate.

According to the ministry’s Monthly Development Update, the monitoring exercise covered projects across multiple sectors, including six education projects jointly reviewed with the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Wealth Pakistan reported.

“This collaborative monitoring ensures that critical projects in education receive closer oversight and timely interventions,” the update stated.

Highlighting the role of technology, the document said the ministry has deployed an AI-enabled decision support system to provide evidence-based recommendations at every stage of project implementation.

“The system reduces human discretion, embeds regulatory checks into automated workflows, and ensures real-time tracking of decisions through publicly accessible interfaces,” the report explained.

The update also underlined the rollout of the Intelligent Project Automation System (IPAS), a platform that digitizes the entire PSDP process — from project preparation and approval to monitoring and evaluation.

According to the ministry, “IPAS has been fully integrated with the Financial Accounting and Budgeting System (FABS), which operates on SAP software, enabling detailed budgeting, automated budget releases, and real-time expenditure tracking.

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To strengthen external oversight, the ministry confirmed that it had completed the pre-qualification of 26 third-party firms for monitoring, validation, and inspection of development projects. Details of these firms have been published on the Planning Commission’s official website.

The Monthly Development Update further stated that a Complaint Management System (CMS) has been developed as a centralised digital platform to receive, track, and resolve PSDP-related complaints. “The CMS portal is currently in the testing phase and will soon be made operational,” the report added.

In addition, the ministry revealed that a mobile application for field monitoring is in its final stages of development. “The app is being designed with feedback from field staff and will provide real-time reporting of project progress and inspection outcomes,” officials noted.

According to the Planning Ministry, these reforms are part of a broader push for a transparent, efficient, and citizen-centred governance framework.

“By combining artificial intelligence, digital automation, and public accountability tools, the ministry aims to accelerate development outcomes and strengthen public trust in governance,” the document concluded.