Ethiopia has chosen India’s state-owned telecom and ICT company RailTel Corporation to build a greenfield data centre for its Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Addis Ababa, according to The Economic Times.
The data centre is expected to be completed within a year, followed by three years of operation and maintenance support. RailTel said the project is part of India’s contribution to the Digital Ethiopia Strategy.
The assignment was facilitated through India’s Ministry of External Affairs under a government-to-government framework. The project follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ethiopia in December 2025, where he highlighted India’s plans to expand cooperation in digital infrastructure and technology. Modi emphasized India’s expertise in digital public infrastructure, including telecom and ICT systems, as part of the strategic partnership with Ethiopia.
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in New Delhi, RailTel is a Navratna public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways. Initially established to modernize communication networks for Indian Railways, RailTel now operates one of India’s largest optical fibre networks, spanning over 63,000 kilometres. The company provides broadband, VPN, cloud platforms, data centres, and managed ICT solutions, operates certified Tier‑III data centres, and manages the RailWire public Wi‑Fi network across thousands of railway stations in India.
The Ethiopian project is part of RailTel’s broader international expansion strategy, which aims to export India’s digital infrastructure expertise to partner countries. RailTel cited its participation in Sri Lanka’s Unique Identity programme, funded by the Indian government, as a recent example. The company is also exploring collaborations with global original equipment manufacturers to facilitate technology transfer, promote Make in India initiatives, and support localisation of advanced digital technologies.
RailTel is actively pursuing international opportunities across Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, South America, and Australia, inviting Expressions of Interest from global firms and agencies for overseas collaborations.
