KIGALI - The Government has disclosed that approximately 50 percent of the works to roll out the fibre optic cable across the country is now complete.

This was revealed yesterday by Dr. Ignace Gatare, the Minister in President’s Office in charge of Information Communication Technology (ICT), in an exclusive interview with The New Times.

"The total distance for the optic cable is 2,300 kilometres across the country and the distance covered so far is 1,380 kilometres in laying the ducts, while fibre blowing has been done on over 730 kilometres,” he said.

He added that two major regional links of Kigali-Gatuna and Kigali-Rusumo are already covered and two more regional routes; Kigali-Kanyaru and Kigali- Rubavu will be completed by the end of this month.

Gatare said that all the civil works and rolling out the fibre will be ready by the end of December and the entire network will be fully operational by April 2011.

"We are targeting to connect 317 institutions in all 30 districts, 97 in Kigali and 220 outside Kigali, and all the nine Rwandan borders will be connected. But as we are working on connecting more institutions, the number will certainly increase,” he explained.

The infrastructure will boost access to various broadband services including fast tracking government initiatives like e-Governance, e-Banking, e-Learning, e-Health, and other applications.

He underscored that once the cable is connected to the undersea fibre optic, Rwandans will access affordable high speed internet which should eventually foster the development of online business such as e-Tourism.

The network cable is expected to enhance the ICT industry by facilitating IT-based foreign direct investments in areas such as business outsourcing which can leverage on the already existing fibre optic broadband infrastructure.

Ends