China’s ZTT Group announced that it plans to invest approximately $100 million to establish a submarine and terrestrial cables manufacturing facility at Saudi Arabia’s Ras Al-Khair Port.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the company signed a land lease agreement with the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) to set up the 80,000 sq m facility. The planned facility will have capacity to annually produce 500 km of submarine cables, 500 km of terrestrial cables and 12,500 km of fiber-optic cables. GCC Business News reported the cable will support large-scale renewable energy installations, bolster digital connectivity networks and advance offshore infrastructure projects throughout the country and beyond, reported.
The partnership was described as essential for building Saudi Arabia’s submarine and terrestrial cable sector, directly advancing the National Transport and Logistics Strategy’s aim of making the kingdom a global logistics hub. Al-Mazrou described the project as a strategic move that would reinforce Ras Al-Khair Port’s role as an industrial center in the country. The collaboration would help localize cable manufacturing and attract technologies that support Saudi Arabia’s growing telecommunications industry.
Per the ZTT Group website, the business—officially known as Jiangsu Zhongtian Technology Co., Ltd.—ZTT employs over 16,000 people and operates 80 subsidiary companies. It has more than 54 offices and 12 marketing centers overseas, with plants in India, Brazil, Indonesia, Morocco, Turkey and Germany. ZTT exports products to over 160 countries and regions worldwide.
