Alphabet's Google, one of the world's largest multinationals and wealthiest companies, has announced a project to set up an international submarine cable landing station and network facility in Addu City Hithadhoo.
According to announcements by Google and the Maldives government, the undersea cable system, dubbed "Dhivaru", will connect Oman, the Maldives and the Christmas Islands on the western coast of Australia.
“Dhivaru” is the line that controls the main sail on traditional Maldivian sailing vessels, and signifies the skill, strength, and experience of the early sailors navigating the seas, Google's Vice President of Global Networking and Infrastructure Bikash Koley wrote in the company's blog.
Google said this will further expand its "Australia Connect Initiative" and strengthen digital connectivity in the Indian Ocean.
"In addition to the cable investment, Google will be investing in creating two new connectivity hubs for the region. The Maldives and Christmas Island are naturally positioned for connectivity hubs to help improve digital connectivity for the region, including Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Oceania," the blog post read.
Google is making the investment in partnership with two telecommunications companies in the Maldives, Dhiraagu and Ooredoo.
The Economic Ministry said in a statement that the investment was arranged after discussions with Google officials during President Mohamed Muizzu's visit to the United States last year.
"Google's investment underscored the Maldives' growing attractiveness for high-value global investors and highlights the country's potential to develop new sectors such as cloud services, fintech, digital content, and technology startups," it stated.
The Economic Ministry said these areas of technology will reduce dependence on tourism, which will help the government in its efforts to diversify the economy and create more jobs.
Meanwhile, there are no updates on the OCM-IAX cable project, which was invested in by the Maldives government in collaboration with India's Reliance Jio. The government insisted that the project would go ahead as planned amid rumours that the cable was going to be sold.
