Developers of the proposed MViSTA undersea cable system expect to select a supplier between Japan’s NEC Corporation and France’s Alcatel Submarine Networks before the end of October, as they advance a $400 million project designed to improve digital connectivity across Southeast Asia.
The planned 2,500-kilometre cable will connect Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand, with service targeted for late 2028. The project’s backers have excluded Chinese suppliers from the bidding process and designed the route to avoid areas of the South China Sea claimed by Beijing, according to Reuters.
US cable manufacturer SubCom was also invited to bid but declined because of existing commitments. Alcatel Submarine Networks declined to comment on the tender, while NEC did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
The project is backed by Stavian Hightech Infrastructure, Midas Capital and LitUp Network, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s OMS Group. US-based telecommunications consultancy APTelecom is leading commercial implementation and helping attract prospective customers for the system.
MViSTA is intended to add international data capacity for the four participating countries. Vietnam, in particular, has faced disruptions when faults affected multiple submarine cable systems, prompting efforts to expand its international connectivity options.
The cable is also linked to plans for a data-centre campus in southern Vietnam that could host hyperscale cloud providers and artificial intelligence infrastructure operators. The proposed Stavian Digital Park in Ho Chi Minh City is undergoing a feasibility study funded by the US Trade and Development Agency.
The study will examine the feasibility of the proposed development, including whether US restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductors could affect the planned one-gigawatt infrastructure. Stavian’s published plans identify 300 megawatts of power capacity for the first phase by 2030, while the larger one-gigawatt figure relates to the proposed development at a broader scale.
The feasibility work is intended to assess infrastructure requirements and the campus’s commercial prospects. The US funding covers the study, not the full construction cost of the cable or the data-centre campus.
A separate commercial milestone was reported by specialist publication Submarine Networks, which said AsiaHub One, the project company, signed a non-binding letter of intent with NTT Ltd. on September 24 concerning MViSTA. The reported agreement does not establish that a binding capacity purchase contract has been completed.
Reuters put the cable’s estimated cost at approximately $400 million and reported a target service date of late 2028. Submarine Networks has listed 2029 as the expected ready-for-service year, leaving the final delivery schedule subject to further project developments.
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