$400m undersea cable to carry electronic data to North

A map of the proposed submarine cable route between New Zealand, from Whangarei to Portland, Oregon, on the west coast of the United States. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

A $400 million undersea cable carrying huge amounts of electronic data from around the globe will come ashore in Northland, with an undisclosed Bream Bay site chosen as the landing point for the development.

Hawaiki Cable -- backed by its major New Zealand investor Sinclair Investments Group (SIL) -- confirmed yesterday it would forge ahead with the New Zealand link of its international submarine cable project landing in Whangarei.

Northland regional economic development agency Northland Inc says it is thrilled with the news. The cable could be operating by 2017 and will be the second fibre-optic cable network and third physical cable linking New Zealand with the rest of the world.

It will be able to carry vast quantities of electronic data between Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and the west coast of the United States directly, but will open up connections globally.

Northland Regional Council chairman Bill Shepherd and David Wilson, CEO of Northland Inc, say confirmation Bream Bay will be the cable's landing site represents a big win for the Whangarei district and the wider Northland region.

"Projects like the cable initiative are tangible examples of how this can be facilitated using relatively small amounts of public money in a careful manner through council's investment in Northland Inc," Mr Shepherd said.

Mr Wilson said Northland Inc had long felt the Hawaiki Cable project was a critical piece of infrastructure that would attract further information and communication technologies (ICT) investment to New Zealand and Northland.

"That's why we were quick to offer support as an equity partner some time ago," he said. "We're delighted that a significant New Zealand investor such as SIL has taken up the opportunity and that we can now work on leveraging the opportunity."

Mr Wilson said three conditions helped Whangarei win out as the preferred site: the fact it was geographically well removed from New Zealand's existing submarine cables, offering security of supply in the event of a natural disaster; the access to multiple existing land-based data transfer networks; and the availability of "green" power for future development.