Gabon has entered into a US$58 million loan deal with the World Bank to finance the installation of the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine optical fibre cable
The loan agreement was signed by Gabon’s minister for economy, employment and sustainable development, Luc Oyoubi, and World Bank representative Zouera Youssoufou.
The agreement forms part of the Gabonese president’s policy of establishing the state as a leader in connectivity in Central Africa.
The project, CAB4, is aimed at increasing the geographic coverage of high-bandwidth networks and lower cost of communications services in the Republic of Gabon.
The African state has decided to pursue outside funding in the project in order to launch its “broadband for all” scheme. These investments will target improved affordable access to broadband for the Gabonese population.
Gabon is one of a handful of African countries with two submarine entry points, which means that Gabon will be able to provide greater security and better connection across the entire sub-region.
The agreement will also enable the sub-regional connectivity project with the Congo-Brazzaville to be launched, which will eventually interconnect the two countries' networks.
