REGIONAL ANALYSIS AND CAPACITY OUTLOOK | EMEA REGION 9.5.1 CURRENT SYSTEMS
FIGURE 91: IN SERVICE & PLANNED EMEA SYSTEMS
Characterized by steady growth since 2012-2025 250 the early 1990s, Europe, the Middle East and Africa have all seen an increase in development over recent years. This has been one of the most consistent growth regions in the world, owing to its size as well as the important “crossroads” of the Mediter200 ranean Sea and the Suez Canal. While system count has remained steady – with an average of five systems ready for service every year since 2002 – with 2011 seeing the largest surge of 14 new systems – the actual lengths of these systems can 150 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 vary. (Figure 91) The primary factor behind these growth spurts are the SEA-ME-WE Figure 91: In-Service & Planned Systems - EMEA 2012-2025 systems, as well as large coastal systems ringing Africa. In actual number of syscount, inter-regional projects like this cause a huge surge tems accomplished, the EMEA region is in kilometers installed with 2010 to 2012 seeing the most the most consistent region in the world. It has a growth recent growth spurt for the region. pattern that is seemingly immune to the industry’s boom and bust pattern seen over the past 15 years. The EMEA region sees a consistent, annual addi9.5.2 FUTURE SYSTEMS tion of smaller regional systems. These complement the As mentioned previously, the EMEA region is uniquely large, multi-region projects like SEA-ME-WE, ACE, characterized as a region of steady activity, with bursts of EIG, and WACS to name a few. These large projects highly ambitious, region-spanning systems every few years. span multiple regions of the world, rather than smaller, The rate of kilometers added per year shows an average inter-country routes and are the biggest projects the inincrease of 4.1 percent annually since 2012. Recent bursts dustry tackles. Each system of this kind comes in at well of eighter percent, nine percent, and 12 percent have been over 10,000 kilometers per route — sometimes beyond observed in 2016, 2017, and 2012, respectively. Howev20,000 and 25,000 kilometers. Despite the steady system er, a significant reduction in growth was seen between
TABLE 13: EMEA SYSTEMS, 2010-PRESENT RFS YEAR
SYSTEM
CAPACITY (TBPS)
LENGTH (KMS)
2012
ACE
20
17000
2012
Alasia
25.6
350
2012
Silphium
1.2
426
2012
Solas
0.005
140
2012
WACS
14.5
14350
2012
Emerald Bridge Fibres
-
120
2012
Geo-Eirgrid
-
187
2012
Libreville-Port Gentil Cable
-
198
2012
POI
-
400
2012
Tamares North
-
345
2012
Loukkos
1.28
187
2013
Scotland-Orkney-Shetland
-
400