The submarine cable system will further strengthen telecom cable connectivity between India and other Asian nations, including Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

September 5, 2022

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), for Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), has given its nod of approval for the development of an undersea cable system. According to news reports – the transnational optical fibre cable system will span across 8,100 km, constructing a connection between India and Singapore, i.e., from Mumbai to Singapore, via Chennai.

As per the EAC meeting, the submarine cable system will terminate at Versova beach in Mumbai and will have a landing point in Chennai at Santhome beach. This will boost telecom connectivity between India and other Asian countries, namely Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

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The project, known as the Myanmar/Malaysia-India-Singapore Transit (MIST) Submarine Cable System, is being implemented by Japan-based NEC Corporation. It will be the seventeenth such optical fibre cable system to land in Mumbai, and is expected to be ready to be operational in 2023. The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) recommended the project for CRZ clearance to the MoEFCC this year. Out of the total 8,100 km length of the cable system, about 202.06km are located in the CRZ boundary of Maharashtra.

The ministry has clearly asserted that the project proponent – NTT Communications India Network Services “to not hinder the fishing activity in the area” around Versova Beach. During the project’s announcement in 2019, NTT had informed the total cost of the MIST project to be about USD 400 million (~INR 3194.50 crore) while the cost of constructing the beach manhole at Versova to place the telecom cable is only around INR 32 crore.

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According to the research by Anna University (Chennai), the cable route falls under the CRZ II, CRZ I-A, CRZ IB, and CRZ IVA areas as per Coastal Regulation Zone Notification. The main trunk route of the telecom cable system is from Tuas in Singapore to Mumbai.