(Ecofin Agency) - Indian company Sterling and Wilson Private Ltd was awarded the contract to build a data center in Pointe-Noir, Congo. The related deal was signed last week in Brazzaville between Léon Juste Ibombo (pictured), the Congolese Minister of Post, Telecommunications and Digital Economy, and representatives of the company.

The soon to be built infrastructure is part of the second phase of the Central Africa Backbone (CAB4) project which aims to connect the countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in Africa via high speed internet. The data center will enable the Congolese government to better manage and store the whole country’s digital data and create an enabling national ecosystem for the sustainable development of national big data policies and strategies. Construction work is valued at $30 billion (about CFA17.22 billion) and money is expected to be raised from Exim Bank of India.

In addition to the data center, the government has entrusted Sterling and Wilson Private Limited with the unique digital identity project - with KYC (Know Your Customer) and related services - estimated at nearly $152 million (CFA87.24 billion).