The state infrastructure fund Desarrollo País and H2 Cable, a subsidiary of Singapore's BW Digital, announced that they are looking for a partner to begin work on the Humboldt Cable that will connect Chile with Australia.
The two companies issued a request for proposals for a strategic partner to supply and install the system. According to reports, the recipient companies of the request for proposals would be the French Alcatel Submarine Networks Marine, the North American SubCom and the Japanese Nec Corporation.
The planned system will span approximately 15,000 km connecting Valparaíso, Chile, with Sidney, Australia, with provision for branch lines to additional locations, such as Juan Fernández, islands 670 km off the coast of Chile, Easter Island, New Zealand and Antarctica. Cost estimates range from US$450 million to US$650 million.