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World Bank funds underwater high-speed cable for Samoa

Samoans in the neighboring Independent state are looking forward to cheaper and higher-capacity internet access after the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a grant of US$16 Million for the Samoa Connectivity Project last week. The project is expected to bring economic and social benefits to Samoa with significantly more reliable and affordable Internet connectivity, according to a World Bank media release.

 

Samoa is currently connected to the Internet via satellite and the older American Samoa-Hawaii Cable System. “The growing demand for connectivity means that much higher-capacity and lower-cost solutions are now needed,” the World Bank says.  

 

The project will be carried out as a private-public partnership, with financing from the Asian Development Bank, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the newly established Samoa Submarine Cable Company.

 

The project forms part of the World Bank’s Pacific Regional Connectivity Program, a series of projects done in partnership with other development agencies to help Pacific Island countries achieve more affordable information and communication technologies and reduce their isolation.

 

Samoa will be connected via an 800+ mile cable that will link Upolu and Savai’i, to the Southern Cross Cable Network in Suva, Fiji. According to the World Bank, Fiji is a well-established submarine cable hub with connections to Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, the United States (Hawaii) and Vanuatu.

 

Of interest to American Samoa, the cable will also provide opportunities for neighboring countries to connect, with work on the cable planned to start in 2016.

 

"This cable is far more than simply an important piece of technology. It is a key infrastructure project that can deliver extraordinary benefits across Samoa’s education, health, business and tourism sectors for decades to come,” said Franz Drees-Gross, World Bank Country Director for Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Pacific Islands. “This project builds on our experience with similar cable projects in the region and we look forward to working with the Government of Samoa and our development partners to bring world-class connectivity to Samoa.”

 

Samoa’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Tuisugaletaua Ali'imalemanu Sofara Aveau said, “This project is central to the long-term development needs of Samoa. It will create opportunities for business by connecting us to the global marketplace, it will help to stimulate jobs and innovation, it will help the government to deliver services in more efficient ways, and it will help families to communicate more easily with their loved ones overseas at a fraction of current costs.”

 

PROJECT COSTS

 

The total cost of the project is US$49.94 million and will be financed by the US$16 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries; US$18.5 million from the Asian Development Bank; US$8.18 million from the Samoa Submarine Cable Company; US$5.76 from the Government of Samoa and US$1.5 million from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Samoa’s cable follows on from a 500+ mile fiber-optic cable project between Tonga and Fiji, which was completed in August 2013, in addition to a cable system connecting Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia to Guam, for which construction is scheduled to start in 2016. 

 

The improved connectivity will support the country’s businesses and tourism sectors, and enable improved access to information on health, education and job opportunities. It will also help families stay connected with the more than 100,000 Samoans who live overseas. In addition, the project will provide technical assistance to the Office of the Regulator in Samoa.