An Iraqi-UAE consortium is planning a US$700 million subsea and terrestrial data cable linking the United Arab Emirates to Turkey via Iraq, one of the project’s backers said, just over a week after the announcement of a Saudi‑backed fibre‑optic project in Syria.
Gulf neighbours Saudi Arabia and the UAE are seeking to tap rising demand for regional connectivity and position themselves as hubs for artificial intelligence‑related infrastructure, including data centres, amid broader economic and geopolitical competition across the region.
The Iraq-UAE project, named WorldLink, will include a subsea cable running from the UAE to Iraq’s Faw peninsula in the Gulf and continuing overland north to the Turkish border, Ali El Akabi, head of Iraq’s Tech 964 – one of the consortium’s three members – told Reuters.
El Akabi added that the project will receive private financing and be implemented in phases over the next five years. Its aim is to reduce congestion and transit times compared with traditional routes that cross the Suez Canal.
The governments of the UAE and Saudi Arabia did not respond to requests for comment.
The more the merrier
Saudi Arabia and Syria on 7 February announced plans to develop a fibre‑optic network as part of a broader investment package. That project, called SilkLink, is a roughly US$1 billion initiative to restore Syria’s infrastructure and position the country as a data corridor between Asia and Europe.
Responding to a request for comment on the UAE-Iraq project, Syria’s telecommunications ministry said in a statement to Reuters: “Additional infrastructure investment improves route diversity and resilience for everyone.”
Alongside Tech 964, the WorldLink consortium’s sponsors include Iraq‑Kurdish DIL Technologies and UAE‑based Breeze Investments.
“AI infrastructure readiness is essential as we witness its adoption globally,” said Nayef Al Ameri, chairman of Breeze Investments, in a statement. “WorldLink is designed to deliver the fastest and most reliable connectivity in the region, serving these needs.”
Sources: CNA, Reuters