Approved project | PIDA PAP 2

Approved project

Extension of National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) to DRC by construction of optical fibre cable across Lake Tanganyika and point of presences (PoPs) for providing connectivity with DRC

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Basic Information

Project Title	Extension of National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) to DRC by construction of optical fibre cable across Lake Tanganyika and point of presences (PoPs) for providing connectivity with DRC
PIDA Sector	ICT
PIDA Sub-sector	Terrestrial Connectivity Infrastructure
Member States	Tanzania
Region	Eastern Africa
Beneficiary Countries	Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda
Regional Economic Community	Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)
Project Institution	Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication (Communication sector)

Strategic Alignment and Regional Commitment

Source in the National Master Plan	ICT Policy 2016, NICTBB Master plan
Source in the REC Master Plan	EAC
Brief Description of the Project	The government of Tanzania constructed a National ICT Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) connecting all Regions in Tanzania and cross boarder connectivity to Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. The NICTBB has a total length of 7,910Km. The aim of NICTBB is to provide connectivity to all neighboring countries. Now the government is planning to connect with DRC by construction of optical fiber cable. The ideal of connection is between Kigoma in Tanzania and Kalemie in DRC, where the submarine optical fiber cable will be constructed.To achieve direct cross border link across lake Tanganyika, it will requires understanding of lake Tanganyika’s bottom terrain & hydrology, landscape of beach sides, assessment of risks for marine activity and analysis of environmental factors for an in-depth design. The process will need to involve desk study, preliminary system design, route survey then detailed system design, which will determine the requirements for its implementation and operation. However, for generic understanding of requirements, we have identified possible locations of cable landing points along the shores of lake Tanganyika. The direct water distances between the two points is approximate to 150km with 1,470m considered as possible maximum depth of lake Tanganyika. Therefore considering that the cable will need to be layed down at the bottom of the lake, about 200km of submarine OFC could be needed for laying between the two points.
Objective and Rationale for the Project	Main objective is to provide direct OFC connectivity between Tanzania and DRC.
Location/Site	Kigoma, Tanzania
Image/Map Files	Kigoma-Kalemie.png
Existing or Planned Projects along the proposed project	The project serves an existing infrastructure asset of another sector, but there is more than 50% overlap in the geography serviced by the proposed project and the other sector existing asset.
Please provide more details for your choice above	The project is within the vicinity of Lake Tanganyika Transport Corridor
Technical Specifications of the Project	OFC- Single mode type G652D, transmission OTN over DWDM.
Market Size	Public and private entities within the SADC Region.
Project Financial (in USD)	4,000,000
Gender Procurement actions	Systems Configuration and Civil works. Gender equality and equity in accordance with SADC Gender policy and guidelines.
Last Milestone Known	S2A - Pre-Feasibility

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