Rwanda establishes national data center

The Rwandan government has awarded a contract to a Swedish company to establish a national data center where all the national data will be stored and also provide data backup for other countries in the region.

The Rwandan government said neighboring countries wishing to back up their data on the Rwandan system will be allowed to while a commercial area will be provided for nongovernmental organizations and companies wishing to back up their information.

The Rwanda Development Board-information and communication technology signed a contract with a Swedish information and communication technology (ICT) firm, Coromatic, for the national data center. Coromatic will construct the data center at a cost of more than US$5 million.

For several months, the Rwanda Development Board, charged with the development of ICT in the country, had been negotiating with Coromatic. The data center will store data for government ministries, institution and private institutions.

The minister in charge of science and ICT in the office of the president, Romain Murenzi, said the data center is one of the major initiatives the Rwandan government is putting in place to transform the ICT sector.

Murenzi said the transformation of the ICT sector is being done under the National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI), a road map for ICT-led socioeconomic development spanning a period of 20 years.

"The national data center is part of the NICI plan that aims at building a robust and modern infrastructure to accommodate a centralized system that would enhance government functions and the private sector," Murenzi said.

Murenzi said Rwanda will be the first country in the region to have a modern national data center, adding that the country is working at increasing bandwidth to address connectivity problems.

The World Bank has already provided $24 million to facilitate the country's plan to connect to regional undersea cables running under the Indian Ocean, including the SEACOM and EASSY projects.

Installation work on the center is expect to begin in September, with the goal of handing over the centers to the Rwandan government in December.