Seychelles Cable System Company Limited said its US$20-million undersea cable project will go live in July 2021.

The 12,000-kilometre project, Pakistan East Africa Cable Express (PEACE) will connect the group of islands, via Kenya, with the international community and is expected to provide faster and more reliable internet connectivity.

Benjamin Choppy, the principal secretary of Department of Information, Communications and Technology in Seychelles and chairman of the Seychelles Cable System Company Limited said, "The project will not only link Seychelles to Africa and Asia but also Europe which is a good thing."

Seychelles is currently connected to one submarine cable system, the Seychelles East Africa System (SEAS) which was built by Seychelles Cable System Company Limited in 2012 and connects the islands from Tanzania.

Eric Delort from iXblue, a French company that has been contracted to conduct the project's environmental and social impact assessment study, told the media that objectives of the project include connecting Seychelles to worldwide broadband internet via fibre optic submarine networks and providing redundancy.

Delort said in establishing the landing of the cable at Perseverance island, it was necessary to avoid sensitive zones such as coral reefs, protected areas and rocky landing areas.

"Perseverance is the best place because it is a sand place allowing easy work, minimised impact and the cable route is away from the main maritime routes," he said.