The Transborder Submarine Fiber PoPs, Regional Smart Hub Facility and Data Centre is a strategic multi-country ICT infrastructure project advancing through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model under PIDA PAP 2. The project is coordinated by EAC and IGAD and is institutionally anchored in the IGAD Regional Infrastructure Masterplan (IRIMP). As of 2024, the project remained at the Project Structuring stage (S3A), with PPP transaction advisory ongoing. A significant enabling development occurred in September 2024, when EAC and IGAD formally commenced implementation of the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP) - a complementary World Bank-funded initiative (US$15 million grant to EAC Secretariat) covering Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, EAC, and IGAD, aimed at advancing digital market integration across Eastern Africa. A joint EARDIP Implementation Support Mission was held in Nairobi in September 2025, bringing together EAC, IGAD, and the World Bank to assess progress and address implementation challenges. A landmark enabling milestone for the Smart Hub corridor was achieved on July 18, 2025, with the official launch of a 130 km cross-border terrestrial fibre link connecting Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Mombasa (Kenya) at the Lunga Lunga/Horohoro border, implemented by TTCL and Kenya's ICTA, operating at 1.6 Tbps. This link connects Tanzania's NICTBB to Kenya's eight submarine cable landings in Mombasa, directly enabling the Smart Hub corridor. The project was highlighted as a notable initiative at the 8th PIDA Week in November 2024.
The Transborder Submarine Fiber PoPs, Regional Smart Hub Facility and Data Centre is a multi-country ICT infrastructure project under the PIDA Priority Action Plan 2 (PAP 2) 2021-2030. The project aims to interconnect Kenya and its neighbouring countries - Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania - by relaying Kenya's terrestrial fibre network connecting the submarine cables arriving at Mombasa to their borders through strategically placed Points-of-Presence (PoPs) and a high-capacity Smart Hub Data Centre. The project is coordinated through the East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and is aligned with Kenya Vision 2030, the ICT Infrastructure Masterplan, the Smart Africa and Digital Economy Blueprint, and the IGAD Regional Infrastructure Masterplan (IRIMP). It is structured as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and is considered a flagship project for regional digital integration under AU Agenda 2063. The project is complemented by the World Bank-funded Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP), which supports EAC and IGAD as conduits of digital integration across Eastern Africa, covering Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and the two RECs in Phase I. A key enabling milestone was the official launch on July 18, 2025, of a 130 km cross-border terrestrial fibre link connecting Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Mombasa (Kenya) at the Lunga Lunga/Horohoro border, implemented by Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL) and Kenya's ICT Authority (ICTA), operating at 1.6 Tbps and providing Tanzania access to Kenya's eight submarine cable landings.
Kenya already has several sub-marine fibers landing in Mombasa and has already done terrestrial fiber connecting the sub-marine cable to the borders of the other partner countries (Busia border for Uganda, Mandera border for Somalia, Moyale border for Ethiopia, Nadapal border for South Sudan, Lunga-Lunga, Namanga and Holili border for Tanzania). The inter-connectivity infrastructure at the border points comprising 400 Gbps PoPs and Smart Hub data centre in Mombasa are lacking.
1. Reduce regional internet access costs by bringing down the cost of internet access and telecommunication services through elimination of international transit fees for intra-East African data exchange. 2. Contribute to economic development, social well-being, and job creation through the capital role played by ICT in the industrialisation process across the six partner countries. 3. Support the growth of internet, digital networks and services to aid in the digital expansion of participating countries - Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. 4. Improve regional data sovereignty by keeping intra-regional traffic within East Africa, reducing dependency on international routing via Europe. 5. Enable efficient cross-border data exchange to facilitate AfCFTA digital trade corridors and support the African Continental Free Trade Area. 6. Improve service delivery for an estimated 285 million potential users across the six partner countries. 7. Build regional ICT infrastructure aligned with AU Agenda 2063, specifically on integrated infrastructure, and consistent with Kenya Vision 2030, the IGAD Regional Infrastructure Masterplan (IRIMP), and the Smart Africa and Digital Economy Blueprint. 8. Provide a reliable, high-capacity platform for cloud services, e-government, and digital businesses across Eastern Africa.
Original PIDA PAP 2 submission - Objective and Rationale
Bring down the concept of internet access and Telecommunication services