The government of Chad has launched a new initiative aimed at modernising the country’s networks.

Chadian Minister of Posts, New Technologies and ICT Idriss Saleh Bachar was quoted by local news outlet Tchadinfos.com as saying that the ultimate goal was to build a strong and resilient national economy.

As reported by TeleGeography, there are three major steps towards this goal. The first will be to inaugurate a national data centre in Chad’s capital city of N’Djaména, followed by the deployment of 1200km of fibre optic cable in a nationwide network connecting the country’s major cities.

While this deployment will focus on cities other than the capital, connecting the southern city of Doba to the eastern Iriba via Koumra, Sarh, Kyabe, Am-timan, Abeche, Amzoer and Guereda, there are also plans to deploy 50km of cable in N’Djaména. Additionally, the government is aiming to build 200 new GSM sites across Chad.

While the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has impacted Chad’s economy, the minister noted that the new programme represented a new hope for the entire country.