Singapore's Keppel Fully Books Bifrost Subsea Cable, Total Contract Value $1.3 Billion

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Asset manager and operator Keppel has signed an agreement to secure the Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) for the last available pair of fibers on the Bifrost subsea cable system, with a global hyperscale cloud service provider as the customer.

This transaction brings the estimated total contract value for all five fiber pairs to $1.3 billion. The Bifrost subsea cable system spans over 20,000 kilometers, connecting Singapore to the U.S. West Coast via Indonesia, adding more than 240 terabits per second (Tbps) of transpacific capacity for AI and cloud workloads.

Keppel holds the fiber investment through a 40-60 joint venture with co-investors from private equity funds. The company stated that all five fiber pairs have been committed to customers, including major telecom operators, leading hyperscale cloud service providers, and global technology companies.

The project is expected to generate an internal rate of return of approximately 30% for Keppel and its private equity investors. Keppel is also evaluating two new cable systems: one from Singapore to the Middle East with branching units covering South Asia along the route, and another from Singapore via the South China Sea to Japan with branching units covering ASEAN along the route.