Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.19
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (DBK) and Kazakhtelecom JSC signed an agreement to open a credit line to finance a project on provision of broadband Internet access in the country's distant villages, Trend reports with reference to press office of DBK.
The DBK will provide a loan in the amount of 26.7 billion tenge (approximately $68.4 million) for up to 13 years, for its part, Kazakhtelecom as the initiator of the project, will use its own funds in the amount of 31.1 billion tenge (approximately $79.6 million).
The “Provision Broadband Access to Rural Communities of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Technology of Fiber Optic Communication Lines” project is the largest strategic project of Kazakhtelecom, implemented according to the scheme of public-private partnership.
In accordance with the "Digital Kazakhstan" program, this project is implemented jointly with the Kazakh Ministry of Digital Development, Defense and Aerospace Industry and is aimed at accelerating the technological modernization of the economy, as well as ensuring universal access to fiber-optic infrastructure and eliminating digital inequality.
As part of the signed agreement on the opening of a credit line between DBK and Kazakhtelecom, financing of the project with borrowed funds is planned in the period from 2019 to 2020.
"The strategic objectives of this project are to improve the quality of life of the rural population through the use of digital technologies and the creation of infrastructure for the implementation of projects under the Digital Kazakhstan state program. The availability of high-quality Internet connection in rural areas will improve the speed and quality of work in public institutions, as well as increase the share of public services received in electronic form. In general, it is expected that the share of Internet users will increase to 82 percent by 2022,” said Abay Sarkulov, the Chairman of the Management Board of Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
Within the framework of the project, Kazakhtelecom JSC will build about 15,000 km of fiber-optic communication lines to provide 2,496 Internet services to government agencies and budget organizations in 828 villages of the country.
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