Eighteen schools in the Kumasi Metropolis will have access to the internet under the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI)-School Partnership Project.

The Project is being jointly undertaken by Zain Communications Limited, Ericsson, a cell phone manufacturing company, and the MCI.

Mr Philip Sowah, Country Manager of Zain, said the beneficiaries would be connected within the year.

The MCI is the urban counterpart of the UN Millennium Villages Project which aims at helping to select middle-sized cities across sub-Saharan Africa to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Mr Sowah said Zain’s association with the project showed its commitment to the drive towards ensuring that Ghana did not miss the 2015 deadline of halving poverty.

Zain and Ericson, he said, would provide equipment and other communication facilities to aid thousands of SHS and JHS students in Kumasi to have reliable access to the internet.

Already, the two companies have assisted the Bonsaaso Cluster of the Millennium Villages Project with internet access.