Afcacia

Uganda and China have signed a $151-million agreement for the expansion of the East African country’s key national data infrastructure project.
Ugandan Minister of Finance Matia Kasaija and Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong signed the deal that will kick off the fifth phase of the National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure Project.

“On behalf of the government of Uganda, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the government of the People’s Republic of China for the long-lasting technical and financial support,” said Kasaija at the signing ceremony.

Zhang said the Chinese government’s provision of concessional loans demonstrate Beijing’s strong confidence in supporting Uganda’s economic and social transformation efforts.

Joyce Ssebugwawo, Uganda’s state minister for Information, Communication and Technology, noted that phase five of the project is timely in addressing the connectivity gaps in the realization of a digital Uganda by 2040.

“This project will complete connectivity to all district local governments and administrative units, including schools and health centers, to ease service delivery,” Ms Ssebugwawo stated.