Pan-African telecommunications group Liquid Telecom said on Monday it plans to invest US$400-million (about R5.6-billion) in network infrastructure and data centres in Egypt following the completion of its “Cape to Cairo” link.

Liquid, which is controlled by Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa’s Econet Group, has signed a partnership with Telecom Egypt as part of the three-year investment plan.

The investment was made during a signing ceremony between the two companies over the weekend at the Africa 2018 Forum.

Telecom Egypt will use the network to connect Egyptian businesses to the rest of Africa, while partnering with Liquid Telecom to build data centres across Egypt. Following an initial investment of $50-million in data centres and cloud services, Liquid Telecom plans to invest an additional $350-million in broadband and “financial inclusion initiatives”. Money will also be directed into building data centres, which it said will be “similar to some of the best-in-class data centres in South Africa”.

Liquid Telecom’s network is now about 70 000km in length and is linked to more than 600 towns and cities in 13 countries in Africa. Its Cape to Cairo network offers a direct land-based terrestrial fibre link from Cape Town to Cairo.

“The $400 million investment will allow Liquid Telecom to significantly expand its position as a connectivity and cloud solutions provider in North Africa, serving businesses in the region with world-class network and data centre services,” it said in a statement.

Masiyiwa, who serves as Econet’s executive chairman, said the next plan is to complete a link between Cairo and Dakar in Senegal through Sudan, Chad and Nigeria, and connecting other countries in West Africa, too. — © 2018 NewsCentral Media