AzerTelecom and Kazakhtelecom to set up joint venture to build FOCL on Caspian Sea bed

Telecommunication operators Kazakhtelecom and AzerTelecom have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture for the construction and operation of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic communication line (FOCL) on the Caspian Sea bed along the route Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan, Azernews reports, citing the press service of the Kazakh company.

The document was signed in the framework of the visit of Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov to Baku.

"The document signed in the capital of Azerbaijan defines the goal and objectives of the joint venture for the construction and operation of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic communication line, detailing the management mechanisms," the statement said.

The future line will be part of the ambitious Digital Silk Way project to create a new digital telecommunications corridor between Europe and Asia.

According to the press service, the parties have already developed the high-level design (HLD) of the future submarine line and approved a detailed roadmap for the project's implementation.

Earlier, it was reported that the operators intend to implement the project by the end of 2024. The main route of the submarine line will run from Aktau, Kazakhstan, to the Azerbaijani city of Siazan and will be over 340 km long. A reserve canal of about 330 km will be laid from Kazakhstan's Kuryk to the settlement of Buzovna near Baku.