Keppel secures S$1.7 billion Bifrost contract, evaluates new submarine cables

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Keppel Ltd. has secured Indefeasible Rights of Use (IRU) commitments for all five fiber pairs of its Bifrost submarine cable system, completing a portfolio with an estimated contract value of S$1.7 billion (US$1.3 billion) and paving the way for new regional cable projects.

This milestone was achieved after reaching an IRU agreement with a leading global hyperscale cloud service provider for the final fiber pair. The estimated contract value includes a 25-year cable operation and maintenance contract. Keppel stated that all five fiber pairs have been committed to telecommunications operators, 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 fund investors.

Building on this project, Keppel is evaluating two new submarine cable systems: one connecting Singapore to the Middle East with a branch in South Asia, and another connecting Singapore to Japan via the South China Sea with a branch in ASEAN.

"The successful commercialization of all five fiber pairs on Bifrost is a strong testament to our ability to originate, develop, operate, and realize value from proprietary digital infrastructure assets," said Manjot Singh Mann, CEO of Keppel's Connectivity business.

Bifrost is the world's first submarine cable system to directly connect Singapore and the U.S. West Coast via the Java Sea and Sulawesi Sea through Indonesia. According to Keppel, the system spans over 20,000 kilometers, provides more than 240 terabits per second of transpacific capacity, and supports artificial intelligence and cloud-native workloads. The company stated that its investment in Bifrost fiber is made through a joint venture with private fund co-investors on a 40:60 basis, employing a light asset business model.