Nairobi, Monday July 20th, 2020: Plans are at an advanced stage to roll out services of the National Data Centre, located at Konza Technopolis following the completion of Phase One (1) of the project, Principal Secretary (PS) Ministry of Information Communication and Technology (ICT), Innovation and Youth Affairs, Mr. Jerome Ochieng has said.
It is expected that Government ministries and other agencies will be the early movers to migrate their data to the centre whose services will also be available for private entities as part of the commercialization plan. The Data Centre has so far attracted interest from both public and private entities.
The PS made the revelation during a site visit to the Konza Technopolis. He was accompanied by Kilome Member of Parliament, Mr. Nzambia Thaddeus, Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) Board Chairman, Dr. Reuben Mutiso and KoTDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Eng. John Tanui.
The PS said: “There has been great progress. We have seen improvement which is immense. Phase One (1) of the Data Centre is ready for utilization. Most of our data will be resident here. With more emphasis being put on use of technology, the storage of data will be useful,” he added.
The Centre will support the Government’s immediate requirements and business enterprises while providing an environment for implementing and piloting initial smart city services for Konza Technopolis.
Among the beneficiaries of the Data Centre is the Covid-19 Contact Centre located at Nurses Complex, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) which was recently launched to offer front line workers psycho-social support as one of the ways of helping them cope with the psychological challenges and mental wellbeing. Additionally, innovators that will be incubated by KoTDA will be provided with hosting services.
The Data Centre project which started in June 2019 is being implemented by the Government through the Ministry of ICT, Innovation & Youth, with KoTDA as the project implementing Agency. Phase Two (II) of the project will incorporate smart city facilities and services.
During the tour, the PS also donated handwashing machines and sanitizers to residents of Malili Town and engaged them on possible Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects that the government can provide through KoTDA.
The Kilome MP said KoTDA had made great progress on the project, adding that over 1,000 individuals from the neighboring community have benefited from the Konza project both directly and indirectly.
Dr. Mutiso said the progress KoTDA had made so far was a dream come true, adding that soon the Technopolis will be hosting a university, specialized medical facility, stadiums, schools, shopping malls and churches. Also in the pipeline in Konza is the Agritech Center of Excellence to support Kenya’s agriculture sector in areas such as precision farming, automation and adoption of technology through Global Positioning System (GPS).
Upon completion, Konza will be a world-class city driven by a thriving ICT sector, superior reliable infrastructure and business friendly governance systems.