$700 million undersea cable to connect UAE, Turkey and Iraq

An Iraqi-Emirati consortium is planning a $700 million high-speed cable linking the UAE to Turkey through Iraq, aiming to ease pressure on crowded east-west data routes.

The project, called WorldLink, would run underwater from Fujairah in the UAE to Iraq’s Faw Peninsula, then continue overland to the Turkish border.

Backers say the network will be built in stages over about five years to serve big cloud and AI companies while offering a faster alternative to routes that pass through the Suez Canal, Reuters reports.

The plan underscores intensifying Gulf competition to become a regional hub for digital connectivity and data-center investment.