Prysmian supplies high-density solution for Hong Kong

Prysmian Group has delivered what it says is the densest and highest fibre count underwater optical cable ever made to provide broadband connection between Siu Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island and the Tseung Kwan O (TKO) Industrial Estate data centre hub located on the mainland.

A FlexTube cable comprising 1728 optical fibres was successfully deployed by Australian telecommunications provider Superloop for its TKO Express project. Prysmian says the previous record of 720 fibres was set in 2014.

“We are extremely proud to be part of such an amazing project, to contribute to history by designing and making something that perfectly fits the need of our customer. Connecting Hong-Kong is connecting the world,” said Philippe Vanhille, Senior Vice President Telecom at Prysmian Group.

Frederick Persson, CEO at Prysmian Australia, said, “It required a strict coordination of resources and processes. We wanted to make sure our customer tight deadlines were achieved. We understood the significant, positive impact this cable had to their business in Hong Kong and we have delivered.”

The base 1728f FlexTube cable was manufactured in the company’s factory in Calais, then airfreighted to Australia to apply additional layers of moisture barriers and aluminium tape at Prysmian’s Dee Why factory premises. To ensure that the cable was up to the rigours of being buried up to 5 m into the Hong Kong seabed, double armouring layers of wrapped steel wires were applied. A final sheath was applied at the Group’s Liverpool plant, located west of Sydney. The project commenced over two years ago with the first design of the cable. The manufacturing process took almost six months, shipping the cable to Hong Kong early last December.

“Prysmian has been able to manufacture the densest and most compact underwater cable ever made thanks to the cooperation between local and overseas Prysmian affiliates, combined with our specific technical requirements,” said Matt Whitlock, COO at Superloop.

“Seeing the cable being manufactured in France, processed in two different plants in Australia and then transported on a plane to Hong Kong was simply fantastic. Prysmian has proven its ability to master the engineering challenges of submarine cable construction and installation and then to deliver a 15 t drum on time,” Whitlock said.