CAIRO, June 8 (Reuters) – Egypt’s Raya Holding (RAYA.CA) said on Tuesday it is to build a second data centre in the country for GPX Global Systems Inc, which aims to provide Internet exchanges and data centres for firms in the Middle East.

Egypt is trying to build up its broadband and other infrastructure to attract more technology-related industries such as call centres to take advantage of the country’s relatively inexpensive labour costs. [ID:nLDE5BE1VP]

The GPX data centre, to be built on Cairo’s outskirts, will allow firms to switch between different Internet service providers if one carrier’s service is disrupted, as well as helping back up and recover information.

Such services are vital to brokerages and Internet-based companies, whose businesses depend on smooth and uninterrupted connections to the Web.

“If you’re trading, you want to have a network that’s resilient,” GPX’s President Nick Tanzi said. “You can’t stop trading, so we offer a place to put back-up computers and servers.”

The centre will cost between 150 million and 200 million Egyptian pounds ($27-36 million) and will be aimed at attracting Egyptian and multinational firms working in the Middle East, Tanzi said.

Raya — which sells mobile handsets, runs call centres and provides outsourced IT services — will build the facility that is set to house the centre, the firms said. (Reporting by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Greg Mahlich)