Chad is Relying on Information Technology!

Following a funding agreement with China, Chad is launching its communications infrastructure modernization project. Which provides for the creation of a “data center” in the heart of N’Djamena.

Minister of State, Secretary General for the Presidency, Kalzeubé Pahimi Deubet laid the foundation stone for the future National Data Center on July 7. The ceremony also marks the official launch of the Electronic Communications Infrastructure Modernization Project in Chad.

The first of its kind in the country, this project involves around 114 billion CFA francs (almost 174 million euros). It will be funded through a partnership between Chad and China. It will cover twelve regions of the country. A project which according to the mayor of the city of N’Djamena, Oumar Boukar, “will positively impact the institutions of the capital city”.

Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador to Chad Li Jin Jin believes that human science and technology are about energy and information.“Countries that know how to make use of technological tools are more likely to win in the future and even achieve an overdraft in development“, he said at the ceremony.

An important network of the territory!

The modernization of electronic communications infrastructure will make the use of ICT accessible to all, and will promote the development of the economy and trade between cities across the country. This is the message that the Minister of Posts, New Information and Communication Technologies, Idriss Saleh Bachar, wants to convey.

Indeed, the project aims to fill the connectivity gaps, recalled Kalzeubé Pahimi Deubet. The improvement in network coverage will allow for a finer extension of the wireless network of the main cities. The operation will thus attract subscribers to the market. “It is a strategy to create a dynamic telecommunications market, the main objective of which is to strengthen competition from operators for the benefit of consumers.”

This unprecedented project follows the signing, in the spring, of a preferential loan agreement between Chad and the Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank). Or an amount of approximately 111.4 billion CFA francs repayable over twenty years with an interest rate of 2%.

In concrete terms, the modernization project for electronic communications infrastructure provides for the installation of 775.54 km of optical fiber on the Abéché, Biltine, Arada, Kalaït, Manda, Itou, Kaoura and Amdjarass axes and 88.1 km of urban grid. Some 1,200 km of optical fiber are planned, in the medium term, in the country.

This major project aims to massively participate in the ICT sector in the economic and social development of Chad. It revolves around three components, namely the implementation of 200 GSM relay antennas throughout the territory, the deployment of a fiber optic network of nearly 2,000 km and therefore, the construction of a large data security center.

A step in the development of the country!

This building will have an area of ​​2000 m2 distributed over four floors in the capital. This center is necessary for the processing and storage of digital data. If the center will not be a first on the continent, it should be remembered that Africa has little physical data server structure today.

This lack is denounced by experts who point out the absence of sovereignty of African countries in an area as sensitive as the processing and storage of data. As for the city of N’Djamena, it will benefit from 50 km of network enabling 1000 large customers to be connected. “The outcome of this project will no doubt put Chad on the road to digital development”, said the regulatory authority for electronic communications and postal services, Arcep.

These infrastructures, once installed, will be a boon for Chad and its populations. Which could benefit from better internet access and lower connection costs. Several fields of activity could also take advantage of the possibilities offered by this envelope for innovation.

According to the Minister of Economy and Development Planning, Issa Doubragne, this project will allow the country to diversify its economy. And also to create more jobs and allow the private sector to take off with digital.

Reference: https://www.socialnetlink.org/2020/05/modernisation-111-milliards-pour-booster-le-developpement-des-tic-au-tchad/

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