This three-story facility will store and process the country’s digital data, marking a significant step forward in the nation’s digital transformation.

The project is funded with a total of $72.8 million, with the African Development Bank (AfDB) contributing $57 million and the Congolese government providing $15.8 million.

Construction will include the installation of a 600-kilometre fibre optic cable network connecting Congo to neighboring Cameroon and the Central African Republic.

The data center, expected to be operational by December 2024, will feature dedicated server rooms, monitoring and supervision spaces, conference areas, and essential energy and air-conditioning equipment.

This initiative positions the Republic of Congo to become the first Central African nation with a sovereign data center.

“We will finally be able to host video conferences and store our data locally, eliminating reliance on servers in Europe or elsewhere,” stated Michael Ngakala, coordinator of the Central Africa Fibre-Optic Backbone Project.

Previously, Congolese data was often stored outside the country, leading to the use of domain name extensions like “.fr” or “.com” instead of the nation’s “.cg” designation.

The new data center will enable Congo to host all public data domestically, while also offering data storage and backup solutions for telecommunication companies, banks, insurance firms, and other private businesses.

This development is seen as a major step towards advancing Congo’s digital economy and bolstering its digital security through increased control over its data.