Finland Times

 

File Photo Lehtikuva.

The government on Thursday gave its consent for construction of a submarine cable connection by C-Lion 1 Oy in Finland’s economic zone, said an official press release. 

 

The project named Sea Lion involves laying a 1,175 kilometre undersea fibre optics cable from Santahamina in Helsinki to Markgrafenheiden in Germany. 

 

The project will meet the need for a core network connection between Central Europe and the northern and eastern areas of the Baltic Sea.

 

The length of the cable connection in Finnish territorial waters is about 28.5 kilometres, and in the economic zone it is about 312 kilometres. 

 

The submarine cable will run through the economic zones and territorial waters of Finland, Denmark, and Germany as well as the economic zone of Sweden.

 

Map of the bottom of sea in the Åland Islands in Baltic sea. File Photo Lehtikuva.

The project is a long-term economic investment strategically significant for the European Union and for Finland’s digital economy. 

 

The aim is to build a sustainable, reliable, and super-fast undersea cable connection from Finland to the Continental Europe and to secure a functioning telecommunication connection to the

 

West which is better from the point of view of cyber security. 

 

It is also hoped that this will support growth of the digital economy.

 

Installation of the submarine cable in the Finnish economic zone will take about 20 days. The project will affect maritime traffic and fishing basically only during construction. 

 

The routing of the undersea cable has been planned in such a way that the environmental impact will be small.

 

The government’s decision will be in force for 30 years. Among other things, the implementer of the project must adhere to the general precautionary principle as well as the conditions of the construction permit granted under the Water Act, which means the construction work requires compliance with the Water Act.