The centre will be located in Dakhla, in Western Sahara, Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni told Reuters, without giving details on the timeline or cost.

Several countries are building state-owned data centres to ensure that sensitive data can be stored and processed within national borders.

Morocco launched its first soveriegn centre in January at the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. It has been offering cloud hosting services to local public and private organisations.

"Through this network of data centres, the kingdom not only asserts its digital sovereignty, but also its ambition to become a regional digital hub serving Africa,” Seghrouchni said.

Morocco plans to invest 11 billion Dirhams ($1.22 billion) on its digital modernisation strategy over 2024-2026, which includes artificial intelligence and expanding fibre optic deployment.

--Reuters--