Jeddah and Yanbu hook up to 2Africa subsea cable
At the end of April center3 and Meta landed the world’s longest subsea cable (pictured) at Jeddah and Yanbu, two of the planned four landing locations in Saudi Arabia, announced the organisers of the 2Africa subsea cable consortium. The 2Africa subsea cable is over 45,000 km long and will connect 33 countries when the project completes in 2024 linking the Gulf with Europe Asia and Africa. The cable should make four landings: in Saudi Arabia, Jeddah and Yanbu, all of which have recently been completed, say the organisers. Duba will be hooked up later this year and Al Khobar will be embraced in 2024.
The system builders say the resulting surge of information exchanged will fertilise the green shoots of digital development and boost growth the economies it connects in the Arabian Gulf as it lays down digital trade routes in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, the UAE, Pakistan and India, along with the East Coast of Saudi Arabia. According to center3 CEO Fahad A Alhajeri, 2Africa’s first landing in Saudi Arabia is a major milestone for center3, representing a significant step forward in the objective to make Saudi Arabia the regional hub connecting Asia, Africa and Europe. “center3 will continue to invest in connectivity infrastructure providing world-class connectivity to our customers and contributing towards achieving the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision,” said Alhajeri.
Meta’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Fares Akkad said there has been significant investment in 2Africa on top of several other tranches of financial stimulus in Saudi Arabia. “The COVID-19 crisis demonstrated how millions rely on internet access to do basic day-to-day tasks and connect with loved ones,” said Akkad, “investing in subsea cables provides a better experience for people using our products and not benefits many other industries, including healthcare, education, and social services.” The 2Africa consortium comprises center3, a recently formed subsidiary of stc, Meta, China Mobile International, MTN Global Connect, Orange, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC.