Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Raafat Hendy presented a review on the nation’s progress in its Digital Egypt strategy and the roadmap to its 2030 targets and announced that the country would build five to seven mega data centers over the next four to five years as part of its digital sovereignty objectives.
As outlined in a press release, Hendy noted that digital sovereignty in Egypt hinges on key pillars including sovereign infrastructure, cybersecurity, AI, and data protection, alongside qualifying specialized national talent for operation, security, and development, while expanding technology industries and diversifying supply chains.
Hendy added that digital sovereignty does not imply decoupling from the global ecosystem but relies on international engagement guided by established frameworks, regulations, and standards. Given the varying degrees of technological interdependence worldwide, he said, absolute digital sovereignty remains an unrealistic benchmark for any nation.
Hendy said some of the data centers are expected to be operational and exporting services in 2030, while work continues on the remaining facilities. The minister also said that the digital sovereignty plan includes preparing national talent to work on advanced technologies and quantum computing.
On connectivity, the minister reports that around 20,000 government buildings have been connected to the national fiber network, which now sits at about 5.5 million lines with a target of adding one million more each year. Egypt also aims to extend fiber to more than 55 percent of households by 2030. To further improve connectivity, Hendy said that 10 new subsea cables have been installed over the last decade.
The Egyptian minister met with Intro Group in September to discuss plans to build the 80 MW Kemet Data Center in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, with Intro Group putting nearly US$ 270 million behind the first phase of the project. Earlier that same month Vodafone Business, Elsewedy Electric Group, and Cassava Technologies announced they would collaborate to build out data centers in Egypt. The partnership aims to deliver an initial capacity of 20 MW, scaling to 200 MW and attracting as much as US$ 1 billion in investment by the time the buildout is complete.