Egyptian Government Data and Cloud Computing Center
Cairo – April 28, 2024: President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi on Sunday inaugurated the Government Data and Cloud Computing Center, which consists of two sub-centres. One for infrastructure and one for public services.
The government data and cloud computing center, which covers over 130,000 square meters, is located in a highly secure location employing the latest mechatronics technology. Consists of 1,327 main servers and 1,200 rack servers. The center has a capacity of 120 petabytes and its services are used by 50,000 civil servants.
The data exchange center is built on 145 feddans and is powered by a 40 megawatt power plant. It is equipped with ventilation equipment and consists of four subcenters consisting of 1,400 rack servers and 1,240 main servers, with a capacity of 73 petabytes.
The Government Data and Cloud Computing Center is designed in the shape of the Eye of Horus and houses an administrative and operations center, a convention and conference center, a technology solutions center, and an advanced data center.
President Sisi emphasized that in the past, each ministry had its own server. Therefore, there was no interconnection between government agencies. He added that setting up the center would cost billions of dollars, although he did not provide figures.
Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology Amr Talat said 15 companies have collaborated to establish a government data cloud computing center with the Eye of Horus as its external design.
The center will enable the use of AI in government and civil engineering operations, as the country did not have its own cloud system. It also provides applications that meet the needs of startups and enterprises.
In a similar context, the minister noted that since 2018, $2.5 billion has been spent to increase internet speeds 11 times by 2022, making Egypt number one in Africa.
President Sisi said these projects were a “starting point” for people questioning excessive spending on infrastructure despite the high cost of living. [to a stronger economy]. He similarly stressed the need for Egypt to leverage its prime location to become a more important part of the world's submarine cable network.
The President encouraged students to study sciences that are in high demand in the market, especially in the field of ICT, and to achieve high incomes for both themselves and the country.
Minister Talaat said that by 2026, the target revenue from outsourcing services in the ICT sector is $9 billion. He elaborated that there are three tiers of people working in the field. The first tier includes individuals with an annual income of $20,000-$30,000, while the second and third tier figures are $50,000-60,000 and more than $100,000, respectively.
Egypt initially aims to increase the number of individuals working in the ICT outsourcing services sector to one million. The current number is between 100,000 and 180,000. 60 percent are in the first tier, 25 percent are in the second tier, and 15 percent are in the third tier.