Cross border Pakistan-China Fibre Optic Cable being launched at the cost of 3.7 billion rupees

PT Report

Islamabad – The Special Communication Organization (SCO), affiliated with the Pakistan Army, will joins hands with Chinese companies to realize the goal of connecting the two countries through a state of the art Fibre Optic Cable. Major portion of the fibre optic cable will pass through the Gilgit – Baltistan region, most probably along the Karakuram Highway.

The project will be completed at the cost of 3.7 billion rupees and will accrue economic benefits to Pakistan, besides establishing an alternate international connectivity with China, Central Asian Republics (CARS) and Europe.

At present, Pakistan’s international connectivity with the world is through undersea cables, that are SEA-ME-WE 3&4 and IMEWE, and Pakistan is connected through spurs only.

The project is result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed in April 2007, while construction and Maintenance Agreement between SCO and China Telecom (CT) was signed during the visit of Chinese Vice Premier to Pakistan in Jun 2010.

Launch ceremony for the project was held in HQ SCO, where Director Development gave a detailed briefing on technical aspects of the project and invited technical proposals from the firms for the execution of the project.

Chairman SCO Project Management Board IGC&IT, SO-in-C, DG SCO, Member Telecom MoIT, and CEOs/Representatives of all Chinese telecom firms were also present at the occasion.