New submarine cable project to connect Cyprus and Syria by 2028

A new submarine internet cable named Ugarit 2 is set to become operational in early 2028, establishing a major telecommunications link between the Republic of Cyprus and Syria. The project is a collaborative effort between UNIFI Communications, the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Cyta), and the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment. According to the developers, UNIFI Communications CEO Adrian Shatku noted that this initiative marks a significant international infrastructure agreement for Syria.

The new system will feature 24 fibre pairs with an initial data transmission capacity of 31 Tbps, which can be expanded to a total capacity of 370 Tbps in the future. The project is designed to replace the original Ugarit cable, which has been in service since 1995. The existing infrastructure, spanning approximately 239 kilometres between Pentaskhinos in Cyprus and Tartous in Syria, currently offers a significantly lower capacity of only 622 Mbps. While the new cable will follow a similar geographic route, it represents a substantial technological upgrade aimed at bolstering digital connectivity across the Eastern Mediterranean region.