The project, which is almost completed, will reinforce Senegal's position as an ICT hub in West Africa and accelerate the development of the region's digital and innovative ecosystem.

 Senegal Horn of Africa Regional Express (SHARE), the optic fiber interconnection project connecting Senegal and Cabo Verde will soon be completed, according to Cheikh Bakhoum (photo), director general of the state IT agency. The official made this revelation last Friday, during a press briefing.

"We have deployed nearly 95 % of the subsea cable SHARE connecting Senegal and Cabo Verde, two West African countries,   [...] The cable will allow access to a better internet connection of up to 16 terabits in the future in Senegal. Once the cable becomes operational,  100 gigabits will be available for the administration and for operators who will need large internet capacities," he said.

The 720-kilometer cable will have landing points in Dakar and Praia. The broadband infrastructure, deployed by Huawei Marine Networks (HMN), will be the first direct link between Africa and Cabo Verde islands, which are located are located approximately 570 kilometers off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.

The project funded by Senegal will introduce an upgraded international bandwidth route to West Africa. According to Cheikh Bakhoum, it will probably be inaugurated in the next few months as works are being accelerated.

Samira NJOYA