China Mobile to Get Approval for Submarine Cable Installation

The Hong Kong Government proposes to allow China Mobile International Limited to install an optical fibre submarine cable of about 35 kilometres in length and 100 millimetres in diameter within an area of approximately 1.75 hectares of foreshore and seabed from Tseung Kwan O to the eastern boundary of the Hong Kong waters.

The optical fibre submarine cable is a section of the Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), which is a submarine telecommunications cable system of approximately 10 400 kilometres in length connecting major business hubs in the Asian region, including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Mainland China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.

The proposed works will include installation of the optical fibre submarine cable by jet technique in deeper waters and by divers in areas near shore. The submarine cable will be buried in a trench approximately 0.5 metre in width and at a depth of approximately five metres below the seabed.

The proposed works are scheduled to commence in the third quarter of 2014 for completion by the end of 2014. The extent of the area affected is described in a notice published in the Government Gazette on May 09.