China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), which operates under the brand name Zong, has requested the application of industrial electricity tariffs for its cloud and integrated data centre (IDC) facilities, citing high energy costs as a key factor undermining the competitiveness of local data centres and discouraging international cloud providers from setting up infrastructure in Pakistan, Business Recorder reported.Â
In a formal communication to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, the company said it has expanded beyond traditional telecom services into cloud computing and data centre operations in line with the government’s Digital Pakistan objectives. CMPak has already established a Tier-III data centre at its Islamabad facility and plans to develop similar cloud and IDC infrastructure in Lahore and Karachi.
The company noted that despite competing for the same government cloud and hosting projects, telecom operators face a structural disadvantage compared to IT companies and firms operating in Special Technology Zones, which benefit from tax holidays, rebates, and customs exemptions. Under the existing framework, telecom operators are not eligible for Special Technology Zone developer or enterprise status, even when offering identical cloud and data centre services.
CMPak argued that cloud and IDC operations should be assessed based on the nature of services provided rather than the licensing category of the parent company. It said its cloud and data centre businesses are separate from core telecom operations and directly support national priorities such as data sovereignty, e-government platforms, local content hosting, foreign investment, and job creation in digital services.
The company has sought policy support to grant fiscal parity to telecom operators engaged in cloud and IDC activities, including tax incentives similar to those available to IT companies and Special Technology Zone enterprises, at least for their cloud and data centre verticals. According to CMPak, such measures would help level the playing field in government tenders and accelerate the development of Pakistan’s digital infrastructure.
CMPak also highlighted electricity pricing as a critical challenge for data centres, noting that energy costs are central to their commercial viability. Although the telecom sector has been declared an industry, operators have been unable to access industrial electricity tariffs due to longstanding regulatory and legal issues.
The company warned that without industrial power tariffs for cloud and integrated data centrs, Pakistan’s cloud ecosystem would struggle to scale, limiting local capacity and reducing the country’s attractiveness for global cloud providers.
CMPak has urged the IT ministry to support the application of industrial electricity tariffs for cloud and data centre operations and to promote fiscal and regulatory backing for cloud infrastructure as a strategic component of Pakistan’s digital economy.
