We Are Tomodachi Summer 2018

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8panning nearly 6,200kilometers, SACS will connectthe capital of Angola, Luanda, withnortheastern Brazil’s seaport city ofFortaleza. It will be the world’s fi rstsubmarine cable across the SouthAtlantic, and it will directly linkAfrica to South America.The cable, constructed by NECCorporation of Japan, will enablehigh-speed, large-capacity datatransmissions and substantiallycontribute to Africa’s economicdevelopment.To diversify their economy, wherehydrocarbons account for 70–80%of the national budget, Angolalaunched bidding for SACS at thebeginning of 2013. Coincidentally,Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe,announced Japan’s plan to offerlarge-scale assistance to Africa atthe Fifth Tokyo InternationalConference on African Development(TICAD) in June of the same year.Motoyoshi Tokioka, of NEC’ssubmarine network business, said,“We expected financial supportfrom the Japanese government forthis important project, and we sentthat message along to Angola.”NEC boasts the technical expertiseof 50 years in the submarine cablebusiness and has laid over 250,000kilometers of cable, primarily inAsia and the Pacifi c. That is enoughcable to circle the earth six times.Angola Cables, a semistatetelecommunications company,granted the contract to NEC, andthe Japan Bank for InternationalCooperation (JBIC) is financingthe project. Sharing its industryAntonio Nunes, CEO of Angola Cables, SA and Tokiokaat the SACS Supply Contract signing ceremony in Luanda, Angola.SAs the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) directly linking Angola to Brazilnears completion, expect higher speed and larger capacity data transmissionsFEATURE Japan in AfricaJapanese Technologyfor the Future of AfricaFortalezaFEDERATIVE REPUBLIC OFBRAZILLuandaREPUBLIC OFANGOLASACSThe world’s fi rst fi ber-optic submarine cableacross the South Atlantic Ocean will stretch6,200 km from Angola to Brazil, connectingtwo continents for high-speed and large data.