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US$40M Brazil fibre optic cable…Contractor seeks investors to recoup repair cost
As part of the arrangements to correct defects with the E-Governance fibre optic cable from Brazil,
Head of the E-Governance Project, Alexei Ramotar
Government has agreed to allow Faizal ‘Dax’ Mohamed of Dax Engineering, a contractor, use of bandwidth.
The government, rather than pay Dax Engineering, will give him a portion of the cable bandwidth. They have also agreed to have the contractor maintain the cable for 25 years.
Last week, Office of the President said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed which will see the cable rehabilitated at no cost to the government.
The statement said that the cable was reportedly 20 percent damaged with technical estimates putting rehabilitation at US$28M.
The E-Governance project is headed by Alexei Ramotar, and includes not only the fibre optic element but a US$32M, three-component initiative to connect Government facilities along the Linden-Lethem road and the coastland, with internet access.
The other two components include a cable from Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast, through Georgetown to Moleson Creek, East Berbice, and a data centre with 54 towers that will create a wireless network. The data centre is completed and is located in the compound of Castellani House, Vlissengen Road.
It is estimated that the E-Governance project is costing taxpayers in excess of US$40M so far.
Yesterday, Faizal ‘Dax’ Mohamed of Dax Engineering, said that several sections of the Brazil cable strung on poles will be buried underground to minimize possibilities of breakage.
Mohamed said that Dax Engineering which signed a contract last month with
Part of fibre optic cable from Brazil that will have to be buried underground.
Government to bring the cable into operation, are also in talks with partners locally and overseas to utilize the bandwidth that will become available.
Works to repair the cable have started and it is expected to finish in six months. Government has also said it spent $1B so far to bring the cable, with all its defects to the city, from Lethem.
The contractor, whose company has also worked on sections of the cable laying in the past, said that he could not allow Government to go down the route of allowing the fibre optic cable to not be operational.
Rough terrain, inexperienced contractors and supervising contributed to the cable running into serious problems, before Government admitted last December that it is looking for solutions.
This was after Kaieteur News broke the story that the cable had several defects and was not operational.
A number of contractors are facing legal actions, Government spokesman, Dr. Roger Luncheon, has said.
Guyana is committed to paying a Brazil internet company around US$76,000 a year for connectivity.
Guyana had taken a loan E-Governance project.
Government has been moving to open the bandwidth market under telecommunication liberalization programme, but problems with the US-controlled Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company which has the monopoly on landline, has stalled the process.
Digicel has been granted permission to bring in its own cable. E-Networks, a cable television company with close links to the Government, was also reportedly granted permission to bring another cable.
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