Dar es Salaam — THE Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure has urged the government to fast-track construction of the National ICT Backbone linking Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to strengthen connectivity and boost revenues for Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation.

Committee Chairperson Selemani Kakoso made the call during a visit to the Mikocheni Data Centre in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, saying the project will enhance TTCL's commercial performance and expand services to wananchi.

The committee also advised the government to allocate over 70bn/- for upgrading the ageing data centre infrastructure to improve efficiency and reliability of communication services.

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Minister for Communication and Information Technology Angellah Kairuki said the government is committed to accelerating growth in the communications sector, assuring that the committee's recommendations will be considered ahead of the budget presentation on March 27.

She said a technical team has been formed to work with experts from the DRC to finalise procedures for implementing the cross-border fibre project, while also pushing improvements in digital payment systems, including the use of QR codes under the Jamii Pay platform to ease business transactions.

Ms Kairuki further revealed plans to construct a modern national data centre in Dodoma, with feasibility studies already completed and consultations with the Ministry of Finance underway.

The project is expected to commence in the next financial year to enhance security and storage of government data, while 30bn/- has been earmarked for short-term upgrades of existing data centre equipment.

The government has also approved 3.8m US dollars for TTCL to strengthen its systems and improve service delivery.