On 27 May 2012, the 1,930-km Seychelles East Africa System (SEAS) submarine cable landed at Beau Vallon, on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles. The cable was deployed by Alcatel-Lucent’s Ile de Sein ship, which departed from Msasani Beach in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) on 8 May 2012. The SEAS cable is initially equipped at 20 Gbps with an ultimate design capacity of 320 Gbps.
SEAS is the first fibre optic submarine cable to land in the Seychelles. In November 2010, the Seychelles Cable Systems ltd (SCS) awarded a contract valued at over US$30 million to Alcatel Lucent for the construction of the SEAS cable (see also Seychelles: Seychelles Cable System (SCS) Awards Contract For SEAS Submarine Cable To Alcatel Lucent). In Tanzania, Zantel is the landing party for SEAS in Dar es Salaam. SCS is also a shareholder in WIOCC (Western Indian Ocean Cable Company), the largest shareholder in the EASSy submarine cable which also lands in Dar es Salaam.
The Seychelles Cable Systems Ltd (SCS) is a private-public partnership comprising of Airtel, Cable and Wireless Seychelles and the Seychelles Government. The EUR 27 million overall project cost is financed through 40% equity and 60% debt. Equity contributions are split between three shareholders, the Government of the Seychelles, Cable and Wireless Seychelles and Airtel, and long-term debt is co-financed equally by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and African Development Bank (AfDB, see also EIB Announces Euro 8 Million Loan For SEAS Submarine Cable Project).
Sources: Nation, Seychelles Government
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