Singaporean company to enhance Pacific connectivity thanks to Australian funding

Friday, 27 October 2023

The 15,000 kilometres long Hawaiki Nui cable will strive to bring internet to the Pacific Islands, amongst others.

BW Digital Group has signed a contract with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to connect New Zealand and Australia to the US and Pacific island regions.

This will be done through the Hawaiki Nui submarine cable, which was conceptualised by Remi Galasso, the former chief executive officer of BW Digital and the Hawaiki Transpacific Cable LP.

The Singaporean shipping, infrastructure and oil and gas company BW Digital said that the construction of the system will start in 2024, and the cable will be ready for service in 2026.

The company owns the proposed Datagrid data centre in Makarewa in Southland that is yet to be constructed.

The Hawaiki cable would have been crucial to get the data centre up and running, but is currently mired in a web of complexities at present.

As per BW Digital, the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) will be funding the contracts, which comprise agreements to supply and install branching units and an indefeasible right of use for capacity on the Hawaiki Nui submarine cable.

The fibre optic cable’s branching units will allow operators in the Pacific Islands to branch into the Hawaiki Nui cable trunk and connect directly to regional hubs, BW Digital said.

The AIFFP provides loan and grant financing to Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste.

BW Digital claims that the Hawaiki Nui submarine cable will offer “high-speed, low-latency connectivity with the latest technology” to address the needs for connectivity in the Pacific region.

BW Digital acquired the 15,000km long Hawaiki Cable in May 2022 for $500 million.

The site of the proposed Datagrid data centre in Makarewa, Southland.

The cable, which was completed in 2018, would link Australia, New Zealand, American Samoa, Hawaii and the west coast of the US.

The company’s Datagrid data centre is currently in limbo.

In August this year, Galasso’s replacement at BW Digital, Ludovic Hutier told the Southland Times, “We continue to progress the Datagrid data centre project in Invercargill.

“However, it is a multifaceted, complex and unique project encompassing a myriad of legal, financial, commercial and technical parameters that will take time to be perfectly aligned.

“Unfortunately, due to our obligations of confidentiality with multiple stakeholders, we are unable to share any detailed information regarding the status of the project at this time that might be considered commercially-sensitive.

“We expect to provide an update on Datagrid later in the year.”