East Micronesia Cable Project Advances with Key Coordination Meeting in Japan
Kitakyushu, Japan – 13 June 2025 – The East Micronesia Cable (EMC) System project conducted the eleventh Contract Coordination Meeting this week in Kitakyushu, Japan. nem, as leader of the Project Coordination Unit, headed up by partners Gary Ayre and Ron Andrews, supported by the Technical Project Manager Jerry Tourgee and the Administrative Project Manager Austin Carwardine, organised the meeting which included key project representatives from NEC, the project’s cable supply contractor.
The meeting focused on final preparations for the upcoming cable laying phase of the EMC project, which will deliver the first-ever submarine cable connections to the people of Tarawa (Kiribati), Nauru, and Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia). The 2,250-kilometre fibre optic cable system will significantly enhance digital connectivity for approximately 100,000 people across the region.
As part of the visit, the delegation toured NEC’s repeater factory in Tokyo and the cable manufacturing plant in Kitakyushu. They also visited the Normand Clipper, the cable laying vessel currently completing the final loading of EMC cable. The vessel is scheduled to begin laying the cable on 25th June.
The EMC system will initially provide 100 Gbps of capacity per country, with the potential to scale up to 10 Tbps. The project is jointly owned by FSM Telecommunications Cable Corporation, BwebwerikiNet Limited (Kiribati), and Nauru Fibre Cable Corporation.
This transformative infrastructure project is expected to deliver secure, affordable, high-speed connectivity, supporting economic and social benefits to the citizens of the recipient countries, and improved access to global markets across the region.
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