An Iraqi-Emirati consortium has announced plans to develop a $700 million subsea and terrestrial data cable network linking the United Arab Emirates to Turkey via Iraq, as regional players intensify efforts to strengthen digital connectivity and attract investment in data centres and AI infrastructure. The project, branded WorldLink, reflects growing competition among Gulf countries to position themselves as key digital transit hubs connecting Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
The proposed network will include an undersea cable running from Fujairah in the UAE to Iraq’s Faw peninsula, followed by an overland fibre route extending north to the Turkish border. The initiative is expected to be privately funded and implemented in phases over a five-year period, with the objective of reducing congestion and shortening data transit times compared to traditional routes that pass through the Suez Canal.
The consortium includes Iraq’s Tech 964, UAE-based Breeze Investments, and Iraq-Kurdish DIL Technologies. The project aligns with Iraq’s broader ambitions to establish itself as a stable regional transit corridor and complements existing infrastructure initiatives such as the country’s Development Road project, which aims to enhance transport and trade connectivity between the Gulf and Europe.
The announcement comes shortly after the unveiling of other regional fibre initiatives, including a Saudi-backed project in Syria designed to create an alternative data route linking Asia and Europe. Increasing investment in connectivity infrastructure is being driven by rising demand for cloud services, artificial intelligence workloads, and data centre capacity across the region.
Industry observers note that additional fibre routes improve network resilience and route diversity, reducing dependency on single transit paths and strengthening regional digital infrastructure. If completed as planned, the WorldLink project could play a significant role in supporting faster, lower-latency connectivity across multiple markets while reinforcing the Middle East’s emerging role in global data traffic flows.
