A new undersea cable network spanning about 6,800km will connect South Asia (via Pakistan) and East Africa (via Djibouti and Kenya).

The PEACE submarine cable project, which involves Tropic Science Co., Ltd., China-ASEAN Information Harbor Co., Ltd., China Construction Bank and Huawei Marine Networks, was officially announced at the third Asia Pacific Submarine Networks Forum in Hangzhou, China where a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the launch of the project was signed.

According to the partners, the PEACE submarine network will offer the shortest submarine fibre cable route from China to Africa, with links to Europe via land fibre cable transit.

The project will be financed by the China Construction Bank and work will begin in November 2017 with completion expected in the third quarter of 2019.

"We see Africa as a particularly ripe market for investment because of the rapidly growing number of internet users and increasing demand for connectivity," the partners said in a joint statement.

Outlining the rationale behind the project, Tropic Science Co. said the data capacity market is far more attractive in Africa than in several other regions.

"This is because the network is growing rapidly in Africa, and the number of internet users is increasing. We believe that the PEACE cable can become an important vector of telecommunications in East Africa and the social economy on the continent in the coming years," the company said.