. Cable will link eight countries to Internet.

Funding delays may add two months to the schedule for a program to link eastern African countries to the rest of the world via fiber-optic cable. Crews from Alcatel-Lucent are in a holding pattern on the $250-million pro-ject, for which the Paris-based company signed a turnkey contract in March. The project would lay nearly 10,000 kilometers of cable, connecting eight countries from Sudan to South Africa. The delay could extend the 18-month construction schedule to 20 months once financing closes, according to Alcatel-Lucent.

“The submarine cable market is very buoyant and there’s a lot of demand around the world now,” says Georges Krebs, general manager of submarine network activities at Alcatel-Lucent. “Resources are stretched, so it’s difficult to get these done quickly.”

Financing should close by September, with construction beginning shortly afterward, says Michel Rouilleault, senior consultant at Axiom, Paris, which is providing project management and setting up financing for the project.

The East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) consortium, Nairobi, Kenya, was set up by 26 licensed regional telecommunications operators and some international carriers. Consumers along the east coast of Africa typically pay between $200 and $300 per month for Internet access, claims International Finance Corp., a member of the World Bank group. IFC estimates that prices for international connectivity will fall by more than two-thirds as a result of the project, kicking off a cycle of expansion as volume and competition increase.

The project would be 40% funded by private financing sources, including IFC. Published reports say it has been held up by affected countries that are concerned about fair pricing and competition. “There have been obstacles,” Rouilleault concedes. “We believe those are behind us, but we can never be sure.” Hannfried von Hindenburg, IFC spokesman, Washington, D.C., believes financing can go through despite the disputes. “It’s highly likely this will go ahead,” he says.

The cable will be laid directly on the seafloor, but will be armored or buried in waters shallower than 1,000 meters. Laying cable may be challenging because there has not been extensive mapping of the area, says Krebs.