XSite Modular to build cable landing stations for Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Company

XSite Modular says it has won a contract from the Solomon Islands Submarine Cable Co. Ltd. (SISCC) to design and build four modular cable landing stations. The landing stations will be part of SISCC’s undersea cable network for the Solomon Islands.

The company will build landing stations in Honiara, Auki, Noro, and Taro, in the Solomon Islands. It also will construct a fifth structure that will supply office space for the company’s headquarters in Honiara. The landing stations will provide cooling, ventilation, fire detection and suppression, AC backup power, cable management, access control, video surveillance, and a building management system, among other services. XSite will construct the buildings off-site, then ship the structures to the Solomon Islands, where they will be set, assembled, and tested.

The landing stations will support SISCC’s submarine cable network that provides communications connectivity for the Solomon Islands. The undersea cable network includes the Coral Sea Cable System (CSCS), a 4,700-km subsea network that connects Sydney, Australia, to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and Honiara in the Solomon Islands; and the Solomon Islands Domestic Network (SIDN), a 730-km subsea fiber network that links Taro in Choiseul Province, Noro in Western Province, and Auki in Malaita Province to SISCC’s international hub in Honiara. Both cable systems are being majority grant funded by the Commonwealth of Australia as part of its Official Development Assistance program under a July 2018 memorandum of understanding signed by the Governments of Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The cable landing stations form part of the landing party infrastructure that SISCC must provide under these project agreements, ready for installation and commissioning of the cable infrastructure in mid-2019, says XSite.

“XSite’s modular approach made design and construction of the structures easily customizable and able to meet both the strict delivery and budget demands of this ambitious project,” says Keir Preedy, CEO, SISCC. “Most crucially, XSite provides best-in-class and proven building techniques that offer the safety and reliability guarantees that are simply without compromise. We’re pleased to have them as our partner in developing and implementing this critical infrastructure for the Solomon Islands.”

XSite says the contract with SISCC is one of several recently received this year. Details of these other awards are forthcoming, according to the company.

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