The data avenue of Greece – S. Arabia that will unite Europe and Asia
Wednesday 27 July 2022, 00:00
The choice of Greece by technological giants, such as Microsoft for the development of data centers, certainly upgrades the country’s position on the international map. The material is there. The “boulevard” transfer of this data abroad, to Europe and to Asia, through the gigantic undersea project East to Med Data Corridor (EMC), which was signed yesterday between Greece and Saudi Arabia, creates new data. Another utopian project or a visionary investment?
The project, amounting to 1 billion euros, agreed upon in the context of the Mitsotakis-Bin Salman meeting, if it becomes a reality, not only strengthens the country’s position in the global data market, but also upgrades its geostrategic position itself.
By allowing this data to travel through a vast undersea “boulevard” from Europe to the Middle East and later to Asia, Greece’s geopolitical role acquires another value. Because in its final form, the fiber optic cable in which PPC will participate with 25%, aspires to connect Genoa with Singapore.
Through this specific project, Greece aspires to enter the global data market for good, strengthening its position as a pole of attraction for investments by large technological giants. The first works to start in September, the completion schedule is set at the end of 2025 and its implementation is going to involve a multitude of ministries, organizations, private entities and from the fields of energy, construction, IT, bringing obvious economic and geopolitical problems. in the country.
What is the EMC project, as it will be called? A giant terrestrial and submarine data transmission cable system, for which the first discussions began during Mitsotakis’ visit to Riyadh in October 2021.
To the question of how feasible it is to quickly implement a project of such dimensions, without the known obstacles and bureaucratic delays of even much smaller projects, the answer will be given only when the time for the permits comes. The EMC that has entered the final stretch after first managing to obtain in a relatively short time the permits from the multitude of transit countries, i.e. Greece, Cyprus, Palestine, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, will then enter the final stretch.
The risk
Everything will be judged by how much the countries through which it will pass want the project to be done, with indications so far that the prospects are positive. A fully licensed and spiked data cable is now a safe, risk-free investment, market sources explain. Therefore, the very next day when the work starts will also be funded.
The project will be led by Saudi Telecom from the Saudi side, which has 50% in the company to be established, PPC, with 25% and the Cypriot CyTA, and like the other Greek company TTSA, with lower shares. The total budget is 800 million euros, of which 60% will concern borrowing, i.e. 500 million euros, and the remaining 300 million will be equity, which will be shared among the members of the consortium. That is, a special purpose vehicle that will be set up for its construction. Through the project, Greece aspires to become the “European Union’s East Data Gateway” and Saudi Arabia a “Regional Digital Hub”.