WCA January 2013

Industry news

450km cable link for Philippines Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) group is constructing a fibre optic cable system linking Cebu, Bohol and Mindanao. The project will entail 450km of cable from Cebu to Cagayan de Oro City. A little over 300km will be inland, with another 150km of submarine links between Cebu and Bohol and between Bohol and Misamis Oriental. The facility, initially equipped with 210 Gbps capacity, is due for completion in September 2013. “We have fast-tracked this particular project because the demand for broadband services – both from consumers and businesses – is growing rapidly in the Visayas and Mindanao areas,” said PLDT and Smart head of network and IP systems, Rolando G Peña. “This will further strengthen our fibre advantage over other carriers. At this point, PLDT and Smart already have over 54,000km of fibre optic cable assets over the country – several times larger than the resources available to the competition,” he added. The project will add a third leg to the two fibre optic highways already connecting Mindanao to the rest of the country via PLDT’s domestic fibre optic network. “By adding a third fibre link to Mindanao, we will be able to continue providing service in Mindanao even if we suffer two breaks in our transmission networks connecting the island,” Mr Peña explained. “This significantly raises the capacity and resiliency of our network and ensures that our subscribers will continue to enjoy high quality service,” he added. HTS cable project in Germany Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd is producing HT-CA DI-BSCCO high temperature superconducting (HTS) wire for the AmapaCity HTS cable project in Germany.  The project is funded partly by the German Federal ministry of economics and technology, and led by German utility company RWE Deutschland, HTS cable manufacturer Nexans, and major research institution Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The use of an HTS medium-voltage cable in Essen is a world first for connecting two transformer substations. Nexans will complete the installation and commissioning of the HTS cable system at the end of 2013. The cable will then operate as part of the grid for at least two years and the respective experience gained. This project will not only serve as the basis for continued use of the HTS technology used in a specific grid area, but also create a strong foundation for the expansion of the technology.    Sumitomo Electric has recently started the production of 80km of HT-CA DI-BSCCO wires, planning to deliver them to Nexans by the beginning of 2013. Sumitomo Electric’s HT-CA DI-BSCCO wires have already been used for many HTS cable projects across the world. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co – Philippines Website : www.pldt.com The cable to be used in the project is a 1km-long HTS cable with a rating of 40 MVA at 10kV, and will be installed in the downtown area of Essen, Germany.

CMI to supply cold rolling mill to Tezcan CMI FPE Ltd, one of CMI Industry’s Indian subsidiaries, has entered into a new agreement with Tezcan Galvaniz AS, Turkey, for the design, manufacture and supply of a 6 Hi reversing cold rolling mill. This is the second 6 Hi mill of CMI FPE in Turkey. The mill has a total capacity of 350,000 tons per year. It is suitable for 135 50mm wide coils and 1,400mpm process speed. The mill will be equipped with Level 2 automation and automatic flatness control system and will be commissioned within 17 months. CMI FPE – Belgium Website : www.cmigroupe.com Marine cable for Zanzibar Ali Mohd Shein, president of Zanzibar, has described the laying of a 100MW submarine cable as a step nearer to resolving the power shortage problems faced by Tanzania’s semi-autonomous region. The 39km cable, stretching from Fumba of Zanzibar’s Unguja Island to Kiromoni of Dar es Salaam, was financed by the US government and is part of $206.5 million package for the Tanzanian energy sector. Zanzibar’s principal secretary of the ministry of water, habitation, energy and land, Mwalimu Ali Mwalimu, added that the project, consisting of 24 communication fibre optic lines and 400 reserved emergency wires, is anticipated to cost in excess of $28.1m. Bahrain grant The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has provided a grant of $250m to the Bahraini government to fund a power project in the kingdom, Kuna has reported. The project involves expanding and upgrading Bahrain’s electricity network to reduce power outages and facilitate linking of the network to the GCC grid. Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development – Kuwait Website : www.kuwait-fund.org

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd – Japan Website : www.sumielectric.com

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2013