Pakistan-China Fiber Optic Project

The Pakistan-China Fiber Optic Project is an under-construction 820 kilometer long optical fiber cable being laid between the Khunjerab Pass on the China-Pakistan border and the city of Rawalpindi. It is being constructed as part the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor at an estimated cost of $44 million.^[1] Groundbreaking on the project took place on May 19, 2016 in the city of Gilgit.^[2]

The line was first envisaged in 2009,^[3] with Pakistan and China signing an agreement in 2013 to implement the project.^[4] However the project was not implemented until being included as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. Placement of the line will take an estimated 2 years, and will bring 3G and 4G connectivity to the Gilgit-Baltistan region.^[5]

The line will connect the Transit Europe-Asia Terrestrial Cable Network with that of Pakistan,^[6] which currently transmits its telecom and internet traffic through four undersea fiber optic cables, with another three undersea fiber optic cables under construction.^[7]

466.54 kilometers of the route will be located in Gilgit-Baltistan, while 287.66 kilometers will be laid in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 47.56 kilometers will be in Punjab province, and 18.2 kilometers in Islamabad Capital Territory.^[8]

The project will be financed by the Exim Bank of China at a concessionary interest rate of 2%, versus the 1.6% typical of other CPEC infrastructure projects.^[9]

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