Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan sign document on design, construction of fiber-optic communication line on Caspian Sea floor

ASTANA. March 3 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have signed a document on the design and construction of an underwater fiber-optic communication line (FOCL), the Kazakh government's press service said.

The document was signed as part of the official visit of Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov to Baku, where he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Ali Asadov.

"A number of bilateral documents were signed as a result of the meetings. Among them is a document on the design and construction of an underwater fiber-optic communication line along the Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan route. The project has strategic significance for improving the quality and reliability of communication and expanding data transmission between Asia and Europe," the press service said.

As previously reported, to implement the project, Kazakhtelecom and AzerTelecom established a joint venture, Caspinet B.V., on a parity basis. The capacity of the new backbone network will reach up to 400 terabits per second. The FOCL will be 370 km long, and installation work will begin this year. The project's cost was estimated at more than 23 billion tenge.

Kazakhtelecom holds a dominant position in Kazakhstan's telecommunications market. Its controlling shareholder is the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund.

AzerTelecom is part of NEQSOL Holding. The company is a leading telecommunications operator in Azerbaijan, providing the country's connection to international telecom networks.

The official exchange rate on March 3 is 499.22 tenge/$1.