Zimbabwe's President, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Zimbabwe's President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, yesterday, launched a 1500-kilometre rail fibre optic network project in Somabhula, Gweru.

The initiative, operated by Dandemutande, a Bandwidth Cloud Services (BCS) Group subsidiary, is expected to connect local communities, businesses, and government institutions.

Government spokesperson Nick Mangwana stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the project "is set to revolutionise Internet connectivity in Zimbabwe, offering tangible benefits to local Internet users by improving speed, reliability, and accessibility."

Mnangagwa stated that the fibre deployment was in line with the country's National Development Strategy one (NDS1), which is core to the realisation of Zimbabwe's Vision 2030.

Among other things, Zimbabwe's Vision 2030 aims to modernise the economy through the use of ICT to develop the digital economy.

Mnangagwa said: “The policy will make sure that our learners anywhere in the country will have the same opportunities with those in big cities. The master plan makes us achieve a creative society through the use of technology. We must use this infrastructure to improve service delivery, healthcare, education, and agriculture.”

According to the Zimbabwean president, the country must embrace and actually use ICT to make life easier, and the National Broadband Plan will help to close the digital gap.

A year ago, Dandemutande said the project has been organised to improve the redundancy of its network, as well as speed, resilience and uptime.

At the time, it said, Dandemutande will leverage BCS’ current fibre expansion business and will focus on connectivity between Somabhula and Harare via Gweru, as well as from Bulawayo to Plumtree.