Viettel mobile phone network has been expanded in Africa. -- Photo Courtesy of Viettel

DUBAI (Biz Hub) — Viettel Tanzania has helped Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) win the award for the Best Investment Project 2014 in East, Central and West Africa Region, held in Dubai.

"This award is warmly welcomed by the government as it demonstrates that the service and commitment afforded to investors through our agency is of a global standard," TIC's Executive Director Juliet Kairuki said.

Viettel started investing in Tanzania in 2011. Its proposal to invest an initial amount of US$736 million was approved, following President Dr Jakaya Kikwete's visit to Viet Nam last year.

The criteria by which TIC won the award included the size of the investment, scale of job creation, trade balance effects (the percentage of output exported and volume of imports substituted), and local linkages (volume of local sourcing, number of local suppliers and other local commitments), as well as knowledge transfer (investment in research and development, training and education).

Viettel's investment in Tanzania created an estimated 1,722 direct jobs, while an additional 20,000 indirect jobs will be created through their collaborator programmes and partners.

It plans to provide 3G access to at least 4,000 villages, accounting for 70 per cent of the country's total number of villages by 2017.

Eight months after receiving its investment licence, Viettel Tanzania installed about 12,000km of cables, which is expected to reach 17,000km by the end of this year, as well as more than 2,000 base transceiver stations (BTS) nationwide. The construction speed in Tanzania is considered to be the fastest in the foreign markets where Viettel has a presence. It is expected that Viettel will officially provide services in the country under the brand name of Halotel.

The group's general view when investing in any country is to establish the widest possible network and provide benefits to the local people. — VNS