Over 1,600 Kenyan households across the 47 counties have benefited from a Chinese government project dubbed "Access to satellite TV."

The project initiated in 2018, saw Kenya and China enter into a partnership to empower people in the remote areas with information through satellite television services.

During the official completion ceremony on Friday, Kenya's ICT director Hesbon Mwalei said the Kenyan government is committed to fully exploiting opportunities offered by digital broadcasting to help the youths unleash their talents through creative arts.

"The noble initiative enabled households and institutions that had been left out without access to television after the digital migration process to now benefit from digital television," he said.

The digital project, implemented by Chinese pay-tv firm Star-Times, also saw over 130 engineers trained for the venture whose aim was to reduce the digital divide in rural African areas by ensuring villages have access to digital television.

"The availability of a balanced mix of local and international channels through this project will increase access to information which will go a long way to bridge the urban-rural digital divide," Mwalei submitted.

Chinese ambassador to Kenya Wu Peng said the implementation of the project is an important part of the China-Africa Cultural Exchange Cooperation Program.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping  announced at the United Nations Development Summit that China will establish South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, which aims to gather China and international resources to promote South-South cooperation and help developing countries realize the goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," the envoy said.

The project is geared towards helping rural African families access information about the world, improve agriculture, and knowledge about science and sanitation, which will reduce poverty.

StarTimes Group was tasked with rolling out the program due to its global standing as a multinational media company and content provider working in the African television broadcasting industry.