Six West African countries sign a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the Amilcar Cabral submarine cable
April 12th 2023
This high-speed infrastructure bears the name of Amilcar Lopes da Costa Cabral, hero of the independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. It was originally supposed to connect Guinea and Cape Verde.
The Amilcar Cabral submarine telecom cable to connect Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone is gradually taking shape. The Ministers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the Digital Economy of these six countries last week signed a memorandum of understanding with the ECOWAS Commission for the development of the project. It was on the occasion of the second meeting of the steering committee of the said project.
The six States concerned undertake to participate in the process of evaluating the technical, economic, financial, social and environmental feasibility of the project, as well as to mobilize the resources necessary for its implementation. The ECOWAS Commission will be responsible for coordinating the implementation of the project by interacting with beneficiary countries, donors and other stakeholders. A Ministerial Steering Committee and a Committee of Experts have been set up.
It was in October 2018 that Guinea and Cape Verde signed a memorandum of understanding to interconnect thanks to an optical fiber submarine cable called “Amilcar Cabral Cable”. The two countries had planned to later partner with Sierra Leone, Mauritania and neighboring countries on the West African coast for the implementation of the project. The initial budget for the project is around 44 million USD.
In December 2022, the first meeting of the steering committee of the Amilcar Cabral telecommunications submarine cable development project was held. This project stems from the implementation of the orientations of articles 32 and 33 of the revised ECOWAS Treaty which constitute the basis of the region’s commitment in the field of ICT in order to achieve its integration ambitions. The initiative can also be part of axis 2 of the ECOWAS ICT strategy which aims at the development and access to infrastructure.
According to Jacob Jusu Saffa, Chief Minister and Coordinator of Government Activities in Sierra Leone, the Amilcar Cabral cable ” will not only provide a back link for our existing unique submarine cables, but will also help increase broadband penetration in member countries and promote regional integration through digital communications and e-commerce facilities, thereby facilitating the creation of a single digital market in the ECOWAS region” .
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