The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and the Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smeirat have witnessed, via videoconference, the landing of Coral Bridge—a high-capacity subsea cable—at Aqaba Digital Hub’s (ADH) global data center in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
This follows Telecom Egypt’s successful landing of the cable in Taba, Egypt, two days earlier.
Coral Bridge is the first direct subsea cable linking Egypt and Jordan in more than 25 years. It provides a high-speed, direct digital connection supported by a large number of optical fibers, crossing the Gulf of Aqaba. The system enables the aggregation and transmission of high-capacity international data traffic to meet the rising demand from Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications and data centers.
The event was also attended, via videoconference, by Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt Mohamed Nasr. At the cable landing site in Aqaba, attendees included Commander of the Naval Force and Royal Boats Hisham Al-Jarrah, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners at Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Shadi Al Majali, Founder and CEO of ADH Eyad Abu Khorma, and CEO of Aqaba Development Corporation Hussein Safadi.
The project stems from the January 2024 cooperation agreement between Telecom Egypt—the first integrated telecom operator in Egypt and one of the largest subsea cable operators in the region—and NaiTel, a licensed telecommunications provider in Jordan and the telecom arm of ADH.
In his remarks, the ICT Minister underscored MCIT’s commitment to strengthening international digital infrastructure through the expansion of subsea cables, the establishment of additional landing points, and the diversification of terrestrial routes across Egypt.
Talaat highlighted that Coral Bridge stands as a new bridge of cooperation between Egypt and Jordan, representing the first and fastest outcome of the discussions held during the 33rd Session of the Egypt–Jordan Joint Higher Committee, which convened days earlier in Amman. He also expressed eagerness to broaden ICT cooperation between the two countries to encompass further projects of mutual benefit.
For his part, the Jordanian Minister emphasized that Coral Bridge embodies the historic and brotherly relations between Egypt and Jordan through a tangible project on the ground. Smeirat expressed his satisfaction at the landing of the cable on the Jordanian side, two days after its landing in Taba, noting that it is the first subsea cable to be anchored in Aqaba in 25 years. He stressed the importance of the system, as it provides Jordan with a direct digital gateway to Africa and the wider world, while also opening an additional route for Telecom Egypt to global destinations.
Al Majali commended the joint efforts of both countries in implementing Coral Bridge, describing its landing in Aqaba as a major milestone for the city, ASEZA, and Jordan’s ICT sector. He extended his thanks to both sides.
Nasr stated that the proximity between Taba and Aqaba represented a strategic opportunity to establish a vital corridor for telecom traffic across the Middle East and Europe. He explained that through Telecom Egypt’s partnership with NaiTel and by leveraging its neutral ecosystem in Aqaba via ADH, the Coral Bridge subsea cable would accommodate massive volumes of regional data traffic and channel it through Egypt’s diverse terrestrial routes to the Mediterranean.
He added that this infrastructure constituted a cornerstone for meeting the region’s growing demand for data transmission, while supporting data center expansion and strengthening the resilience of subsea cable networks.
For his part, Abu Khorma said that the landing of Coral Bridge in Aqaba marked a defining moment for Jordan’s digital future. He noted that the project positions the Kingdom as a regional data gateway, directly linking it to Egypt’s vast subsea cable ecosystem and creating new opportunities for enterprises, innovators, and institutions across the region. He emphasized that the project was not merely a cable, but a strategic step towards building a stronger and more resilient digital economy.
Measuring 15 kilometers in length, Coral Bridge has been designed according to the highest technical and environmental standards. Its relatively short span contributes to faster international data transfers at lower costs.
The cable provides seamless connectivity across three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe, capitalizing on the strategic locations of Egypt and Jordan, and Telecom Egypt’s extensive subsea infrastructure. It also ensures service continuity by offering alternative routes and backup connections, supporting the operations of major corporations and cloud service providers hosted at ADH’s global data center.
