Name and Location
Seychelles East Africa System (SEAS) fibre-optic cable project.

Project Description
The SEAS will be a 1 930-km-long fibre-optic cable network scheduled to run from Victoria in the main island of Mahé, in the Seychelles, to link up with the existing Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System at Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.

The cable is envisaged to improve both telecommunications and Internet connectivity in the Seychelles, with international transmission capacity forecast to enable cost-effective communications at less cost than current satellite connections.

Value
The cable is valued at €27-million, of which 60% will be debt funding and the balance equity.

Duration
The SEAS cable is expected to be operational in the second half of 2012.

Client
Seychelles Cable Systems Company (SCS), a company specially created by the government of the Seychelles, Cable & Wireless Seychelles and Airtel Seychelles.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank (long-term debt finance); European Union Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (finance grant); SCS (build and operate); and Alcatel-Lucent (supply of submarine technology).

Latest Developments
The EIB has granted SCS an €8-million loan to build and install the SEAS cable in the Seychelles.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Alcatel-Lucent press contacts, Peter Benedict, tel +33 1 40 76 5084 or email peter.benedict@alcatel-lucent.com; or Régine Coqueran-Gelin, tel +33 1 40 76 4924 or email regine.coqueran@alcatel-lucent.com.
EIB, Richard Willis, tel +352 43 79 82155 or email r.willis@eib.org.