Namibia telecommunication company MTC has invested over 85 million Namibia dollars(about 5.2 million U.S. dollars) over the last 2 years and will invest a further 11 million Namibia dollars to build power lines to various rural areas across the country, an official said Monday.
MTC's spokesperson Tim Ekandjo said as part of phase 1 of the 081Every1 project that aims to provide close to 100 percent network connectivity, the digital enabler has also built over 133 power lines that now provide electricity to rural areas that previously were in the dark.
"As part of phase 2 that commenced in March of 2020, we will build another 105 power lines that will connect 105 rural sites," he added.
Ekandjo said these power lines are not just meant to provide power to the telecommunications sites but to the entire area.
"That is why we deliberately decided to invest in power lines as opposed to simply buying generators which would only have benefited our sites. We see this investment as one of social and economic development because once a rural area is electrified it creates other essential economic opportunities for other stakeholders," said Ekandjo.
The 081Every1 is a 104 million U.S. dollars project officially launched in July 2017 with the aim of realizing Namibia's 100 percent population network coverage goal.
Apart from that, the project is a catalyst for change to accelerate the development of rural areas in the country.
Editor: Galia
