Strategic Breakthrough: Undersea Cable Across the Caspian to Link Continents

By Seymur Mammadov, News.Az
March 10, 2025

On March 4, a significant milestone was reached in Baku with the signing of an agreement to construct underwater fiber-optic communication lines along the Caspian Sea's floor. This agreement marked the beginning of the next phase of the Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic Cable project, a key component of the “Digital Silk Way” initiative. The project's objective is to establish a digital corridor linking Europe and Asia through Azerbaijan.

The document was signed in the presence of the Prime Ministers of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Ali Asadov and Olzhas Bektenov, by Emil Masimov, Chairman of AzerTelecom, and Bagdat Musin, Chairman of Kazakhtelecom.

This project holds strategic significance for the region, involving the installation of a fiber-optic cable along the Caspian Sea's floor, connecting Sumgayit (Azerbaijan) and Aktau (Kazakhstan). The cable will traverse the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, broadening the reach of digital communications across Eurasia. The Trans-Caspian fiber-optic line, spanning 380 kilometers, is expected to have a data transmission capacity of up to 400 terabits per second.

The Digital Silk Way project was first introduced to the public in September 2023 at the GCCM 2023 event in Almaty. Notably, the project was recognized as one of the top five strategic infrastructure projects in Asia at the Global Strategic Infrastructure Leadership Forum in the United States. Earlier, in March 2019, an agreement was signed between the telecom operators of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to facilitate the joint construction, ownership, and operation of fiber-optic communication lines along the Caspian Sea route.

The initial plan was to complete the construction by the end of 2024. However, due to various reasons, the project's implementation was delayed. The primary reason was the need to reassess the project's relevance, given the existence of other fiber-optic lines on the continent that might have diminished its strategic importance. However, developments in subsequent years demonstrated that a fiber-optic line parallel to the Middle Corridor could become a vital alternative, passing through more secure regional latitudes.

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