Morocco invests in fiber-optic link to Mauritania

Maroc Telecom has secured a US$ 1.3 billion investment programme mostly financed by the Moroccan government. The programme will see major improvement and modernisation of Morocco's fixed-line and mobile networks, but also a new fiber optic cable to France and through Western Sahara into Mauritania.

Abdeslam Ahizoune, chairman of Maroc Telecom, which is majority-owned by the French giant Vivendi, yesterday signed off an investment deal with the Moroccan government. The deal secures investments of dirham 10.5 billion (US$ 1.3 billion) into Morocco's telecom infrastructure.

Reaching Mauritania, the Moroccan-controlled cable will become a second alternative for West Africa's enhanced connectivity, adding to the prestigious West African Cable System (WACS), which is being constructed along Africa's Atlantic coast from Europe to South Africa. Neither Mauritania nor Senegal have signed up to this competing project yet, and in both countries, Vivendi has a strong position.