EXA Infrastructure and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of the Southern Gas Corridor that transports natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, are collaborating to build a new fiber optic route connecting France and Turkey.
A direct connection between Southeast and Western Europe will be created using fiber optic cables already installed by TAP alongside 878 km of gas pipelines, providing a high level of redundancy to the existing multi-stage alternative routes. TAP has been an independent transmission system operator since the end of 2020. The pipeline connects to the Trans Anatolian pipeline at the Greek-Turkish border, crossing northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before disembarking in southern Italy to connect to the Italian gas network. EXA will share the rights to use TAP's fiber optic facilities, which are completely separate from TAP's natural gas operations.
With the new fiber optic route, the joint venture will add a direct connection from Marseille to Istanbul to the network infrastructure owned by EXA, with branches connecting to Athens, Sofia and Tirana. The new route will use 36 pairs of high-capacity G652D fiber.
EXA and TAP expect to obtain any required permits and the new system is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2023.
