Greece – Saudi Arabia: East to Med data Corridor project inked

Diplomatic sources commented on the signing of an agreement between Greece and Saudi Arabia.

Characteristically they state that the “East to Med data Corridor” (EMC project) is a new submarine and terrestrial cable data transmission system that will connect Europe with Asia via Greece and Saudi Arabia. The project will make Greece the eastern gateway to the EU for data transfer and using the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a regional digital hub. The project is led on the part of Saudi Arabia by MENA HUB which belongs to STC group and from the Greek side by TTSA. PPC and CyTA Cyprus will also be shareholders in the project, pending final corporate approvals.

Today, the CEO of MENA HUB, Fahad Alhajeri, the President and CEO of PPC, George Stasis, the CEO of CyTA, Andreas Neokleous, and the Executive Director of TTSA, Alexandros Sinkas signed the Heads of Terms regarding the obligations of each party in the implementation of the EMC Project. The text of the final agreement is expected to be signed by the end of July 2022 and the implementation of the project is expected to begin in early autumn. The completion of the project is estimated for the 4th quarter of 2025.

According to the same sources, this is a historic project that utilizes the geographical location of Greece and Saudi Arabia to create a data corridor necessary for the global economy, while placing the two countries at the center of transport, storage and data generation in Eurasia. The Hellenic Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are committed to making every effort to expedite the launch of this important and ambitious project.