Contract inked for construction of 11 telecom sites in 7 provinces — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoCIT) says it has signed a 1.1 million US dollars contract with three telecommunications companies to construct 11 telecom sites across seven provinces to expand telecommunications and internet services in remote and underserved areas. According to a ministry statement, the sites will be built under the 11th Telecom Development Fund (TDF) project of the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA). It said the contracts have been awarded to Atoma, Etisalat Afghanistan and Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC). It added under the agreement, Atoma will construct eight telecom sites in Baharak district of Takhar, Khuram Wa Sarbagh district of Samangan, Tala wa Barfak district of Baghlan, Sayed Karam district of Paktia, Nematabad district of Paktika, Spera district of Khost and Azra district of Logar. AWCC will build one telecom site in Guzargah district of Baghlan, while Etisalat Afghanistan will construct two sites in Khwaja Ghar district of Takhar and Tani district of Khost. The ministry noted that under the 10th Universal Access Project, the construction of 550 telecom sites had been planned across the country. Of these, 400 sites have already been completed and are operational, while work on the remaining sites is ongoing.