The governor of Zinder, Issa Moussa recently launched the construction works for approximately 861 km of optical fiber from Zinder to Maimoujia in Niger.
The project launching ceremony was attended by several civil and military personalities, regional technical executives, and Abdel Kader Abdoulaye Babakodo, the Marketing Director of Airtel Niger (the leader of the national telecom market in the West African country) in place of his Managing Director.
Overview of the project
Valued at about US$ 5.7M the optical fiber project is divided into three sections. The first section concerns the construction of a 12 km urban fiber optic loop in Zinder, the West African country’s third-largest city situated 861 km east of the capital Niamey and 240 km north of the Nigerian city of Kano.
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The second and the third phases respectively concern the construction of a data center in Zinder, and the construction of a 123 km optical fiber to connect with Maimoujia, a small town on the border with the neighboring republic of Nigeria.
According to Issa Moussa, the project upon completion will allow the Zinder region to boost development in education and schools, strengthen the participation of rural communities and vulnerable social strata in national economic life and reduce poverty by creating qualified employment opportunities in disadvantaged areas.
Following President Mohamed Bazoum call for development of the telecoms sector
The construction of optical fiber from Zinder to Maimoujia in Niger comes barely five months after the President of the Republic of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum, called upon the actors of the national telecommunications sector to accelerate its development so that it impacts the country.
According to Bazoum, there is a low penetration rate of basic services (around 43 percent) and an even lower penetration rate of mobile internet (less than 20 percent) in the country.
