The terrible state of the telecommunications infrastructure in the Democratic Republic of Congo, (DRC) has touched the World Bank and it wants to rehabilitate it with a funding of $92 million.
The funding will be made available via the International Development Association (IDA) on a five-year basis, the Bretton Woods institution said.
“For the first time ever the country’s main cities will come close to one another, adequately reconnect the Congo with its neighbors, improve connectivity and therefore boost telecoms companies’ operations,” Longange said.
According to the World Bank, the funding will help develop the missing links in the national fibre optic network, and overcome the distance between the most densely populated economic centres of Kinshasa, Goma and Lubumbashi.
The Bank also said that the project offered a unique opportunity to develop crucial infrastructure, and exploit the ICT’s potential of transformation in the aim of promoting growth and creating new opportunities for Congolese citizens.
World Bank DRC representative Eustache Ouayoro said linking the country’s three economic centres will help private telecommunications operators get access to shared infrastructure which they could have been unable to finance.
