Elettra will build the underwater fiber optic cable that links the Malta mainland and the Ghawdex island. The Ministry of Economics in Malta is pushing the delayed fiber optic project that was planned to provide second connectivity between Ghawdex (Gozo) island and Malta mainland. The Government is accelerating the speed of the bureaucratic procedures to sign the contract. The Ministry informed that the signing of the contract would happen soon.
The first proposal to connect the island to the mainland was raised in 2014. It took more than The project didn’t move much from its initial stages and took more than four years to reach this stage. Maltese Government had allocated the funds for a feasibility study in 2014. A team of experts studied the feasibility of the second fiber optic link to the island and concluded that high-speed connectivity will create new jobs and thrive the economy of the nation.
The €250,000 government-commissioned report concluded that a second link between the islands could lure up to 200 high-skilled workers seeking better opportunities in IT, gaming and the digital creative industry. Redundancy of the network ensures seamless transmission of communication services. Damage to the communication infrastructures is common and protecting it from external damages have their own limitations. Hence network builders prefer to build a second communication link and thus ensure the redundancy.
The Economy Minister Chris Cardona confirmed in Parliament that a network contract for a new Gozo-Malta fiber optic cable should be signed soon. While answering the questions raised by the parliament members, Chris said that the Contracts Department was finalizing administrative procedures which would allow it to sign the contract with the successful bidder, Elettra.
Malta Enterprise issued a call for tenders in December 2017 for the €3.5 million project with conditions such as the project shall be completed within nine months of the contract signing. The tender closed on March 8, 2018. Two bidders were shortlisted from the tendering process; Elettra quoted €3.99 million, and Huawei quoted €3.75 million.
An appeal had been filed following the identification of the preferred bidder last August.
The fiber optic link will take the form of a submarine cable part and land-based sections on both the Malta and Gozo ends. The proposed route outlined in the tender commences at the Xewkija industrial estate, proceeds 3.6 kilometers to the shore at Tal-Fessej, limits of Mġarr ix-Xini, then underwater for a distance of 13 kilometers, landing at Golden Bay before terminating 4.3 kilometers away at Żebbiegħ.
Gozo, known locally as Għawdex is an island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of Malta and is the second largest island in the archipelago. Compared to its southeastern neighbor, Gozo is more rural and known for its scenic hills.
About Elettra
Elettra Tlc spa is an Italian construction company that provides a submarine systems survey, installation, and maintenance services to telecom, energy, and oil and gas markets. Elettra’s services include submarine systems project feasibility, oceanographic surveys, inspection on existing submarine systems, submarine systems installation and repair, maintenance of existing submarine cable systems, and turnkey submarine cable systems solutions.
Elettra offers its services in the North and Mediterranean seas, as well as Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The company was founded in 1996 and is based in Rome, Italy. As of September 30, 2010, Elettra Tlc spa operates as a subsidiary of Atlas Services Belgium, S.A. Elettra had conducted inshore and off-shore surveys for more than 73,000 kilometers in the Mediterranean sea, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Since its inception, Elettra had carried out installation and repairing of more than 50,000 kilometers of submarine cable systems for major global players in North and Mediterranean sea, Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans.
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