
(displays on homepage and search page)
GHD has delivered a suite of environmental approvals for an international submarine broadband cable project in Queensland, Australia for Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), a multinational cable manufacturing company with Sunshine Coast Council (SCC) and RTI Connectivity. The cable connection is the first of its kind for the State, and the project’s significance received the Australian Achievement of the Year Award at the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) Technology Awards for Excellence.
The MAV Technology Awards for Excellence recognise outstanding team and individual efforts in the use of technology to improve service delivery and efficiency to local government organisations or communities. The cable will provide one of the fastest data and telecommunications connection to Asia from the east coast of Australia and the United States.

GHD was engaged by ASN to prepare and apply for permits and licenses necessary for the installation and operation of the Japan Guam Australia (JGA) cable in Australian waters. The JGA cable is approximately 9500 km long connecting Sydney, Australia, to Japan and Guam with a branching unit connecting the main cable to Maroochydore. As such, ASN and GHD also assisted SCC with acquiring the permits necessary to connect the branch to the main JGA cable. The main cable was laid in November 2019 and the Maroochydore branch laid in December 2019.
"GHD has developed a portfolio of successful submarine cable permitting projects with key telecommunications and cable supply companies in Australia and across the Pacific," says Dr Kate Panayotou, Global Lead - Subsea Cables.
"Thanks to our strong knowledge of permitting requirements, we were able to identify key issues early and complete the work in a timely manner. Our success stems from our ability to have all 'Permits in Principle' in place well ahead of cable installation works," says Joanna El Khoury, Senior Environmental Scientist, GHD.
As the JGA project work was in Australia, and the client based in the UK, GHD put together a two-country team to deliver the project, with the UK-based employees overseeing client relationship and overall project management, whilst the Australian team managed technical delivery and on-the-ground stakeholder engagement.
Katja De Guzman, Senior Consultant in Nottingham, says, "Our integrated team was fully responsive to the client as well as external stakeholders. This meant that any scope changes were easily accepted, and the project was delivered on budget, and ahead of client deadlines."
“We are excited to celebrate this success and award recognition with SCC, ASN and RTI Connectivity, and the benefits the cable will have for the local economy,” adds Kate.
The cable is now in service.
Dr Kate Panayotou |
Joanna El Khoury |
Katja de Guzman |