Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Company Limited (SISCC) has contracted prefabrication consultant and critical infrastructure building design builder XSite Modular to build four modular cable landing stations in the Pacific nation.
The new cable landing stations will be deployed in Honiara, Auki, Noro, and Taro, and will form part of the Solomon Islands' planned new subsea cable network infrastructure.
This network will include the Coral Sea Cable System, a 4,000km cable system linking the Solomon Islands with Papua New Guinea and Australia. The network is being funded by the Australian government and will be operated by Australia's Vocus Group. It will be the first subsea cable to directly reach the Solomon Islands.
In addition, the 730km Solomon Islands Domestic Network (SIDN) will connect Taro, Noro and Auki with SISCC's international hub in Honiara. This cable is also being funded by the Australian government as part of its development assistance program.
SISCC has agreed to provide the landing party infrastructure for the two cable projects as part of the agreements between the Australian, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea governments.
“XSite’s modular approach made design and construction of the structures easily customizable and able to meet both the strict delivery and budget demands of this ambitious project,” SISCC CEO Keir Preedy said.
“Most crucially, XSite provides best-in-class and proven building techniques that offer the safety and reliability guarantees that are simply without compromise. We’re pleased to have them as our partner in developing and implementing this critical infrastructure for the Solomon Islands.”