Center3, owned by stc Group, on behalf of the consortium partners of EMC Subsea Cable Company Ltd (EMC Company) and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), the leader in the manufacturing and installation of submarine optical systems, announced the signing of the Supplier’s Contract for the construction of two subsea and terrestrial data cables (EMC West) that will connect Saudi Arabia with Europe. The second phase of the EMC System (EMC Global) that will connect Saudi Arabia with Asia is in the process of being finalised and will be announced soon.

The EMC project enables KSA, Greece, and Cyprus to leverage their geographic position. It delivers a much-needed new data corridor, positioning the three countries at the epicentre of a digital connectivity infrastructure, which will become a cornerstone of the digital transformation era.

The EMC cable is designed, from its inception, to realise KSA’s Vision 2030 and Greece 2.0 by transforming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a “Digital Hub” that connects Asia with Europe and Africa and positioning Greece and Cyprus as “European Union’s East Data Gateway”.

ASN will begin to construct EMC West, linking Haql (Saudi Arabia) with Genova (Italy) and Marseille (France), via Cyprus and Greece. The two cables – consisting of multiple Fiber Pairs - will have branches in Cyprus, Crete, and Athens. The EMC system is expected to be in operation on Q1 2026 (RFS date).

The EMC consortium partners expressed their gratitude and appreciation to all the stakeholders involved and congratulated their teams and the related Ministries for facilitating the implementation of this ground-breaking and high-profile project.