INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres
African Development Bank finances data centre in Congo to build fibre networks across Central Africa
Jolting hammer blows , the sounds of iron bars under a workman ’ s blowtorch , the odour of fresh cement : at the foot of the three-storey building rising in the Bacongo district of the Congolese capital , a sign tells visitors that a National Data Centre Construction Project in Brazzaville is happening here .
Data centre under construction in Congo
Financed by the African Development Bank , the futurist building will soon be the nerve centre for storing and processing the digital data of the Republic of Congo . In addition , it will house the various applications developed or acquired here in the heart of the Congo Basin , the world ’ s second largest green lung .
With the project ’ s funding of € 66.55 million , € 52.47 million from the African Development Bank and € 14.50 million from the government of Congo , 600 kilometres of fibre optic cable on the major interconnecting routes with Cameroon , 341 km and the Central African Republic , 281 km via the Congo River will be laid and the data centre built .
This is a remarkable feat , according to the Bank ’ s country economist in Congo ,
Michel Ngakala , Coordinator Central Africa Fibre- Optic Backbone project particularly considering the sub-river section for the Congo-Central African Republic connection via the Sangha River . Some € 13.8 million of the total has been allocated to build and run the data centre .
In addition to laying the fibre-optic cable and building the data centre , the Bank has funded several road infrastructure projects in Congo . In particular , it has financed corridors and integration projects such as the Ketta- Djoum Road on the Yaoundé-Brazzaville corridor , involving the construction of a 505-kilometre asphalt road between Ketta in Congo and Djoum in Cameroon , 189 km in Cameroon , 316 km in Congo and the initial section of the Ndende-Dolisie road linking Congo and Gabon .
because communication is a major factor in economic development ,” points out Sié Antoine-Marie Tioyé , the Bank ’ s country economist in Congo .
“ Congo will soon be the only country in Central Africa to have its own data centre ,” says Michel Ngakala , coordinator of the Central Africa Fibre-Optic Backbone project , which includes Congo . “ Ultimately , the videoconferences we run here will no longer go through a server in Europe , America or elsewhere before coming back to us . Everything will happen right here .” p
Sié Antoine-Marie Tioyé , African Development Bank
The three levels will have server rooms , monitoring and supervision rooms , and meeting and conference rooms , as well as locations for the energy and air-conditioning equipment the centre needs to function correctly , which should be delivered by December 2024 .
In addition to boosting digital sovereignty , this project will “ help improve the competitiveness of Congo ’ s economy in terms of factor costs ,
62 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com