Meta and Safaricom are planning a new subsea cable linking Kenya to Oman.

First reported by local press, Safaricom recently filed an environmental report with Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (Nema).

The Daraja Fibre Optic Cable Project is a 4,110km (2,553 miles) subsea cable project running from Salalah in Oman to Mombasa in Kenya. Further details on the capacity of the cable or landing stations were not shared.

Safaricom is the project lead for the Daraja cable and will be working with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), which will make the cable.

Known Meta affiliate Edge Network Services Limited is listed as the Daraja Project’s investor.

“The Daraja Project is expected to go live in 2026, delivering much-needed internet capacity and enhanced reliability between Oman and Kenya and supplementing the fast-growing capacity demand in the countries,” Safaricom said in the environmental report. “The Daraja Project will underpin the further growth of 4G, 5G, and fixed broadband access for hundreds of thousands of people.”

Safaricom and Meta are yet to comment on the news.

Mombasa is the landing point for seven current and in-development cables, while Salalah on Oman’s southern coast is host to five current and upcoming systems. The two cities are already linked by Meta’s giant 2Africa Cable, which circles the entire African continent and features an eastern expansion to the Persian Gulf and India.

Ooreedoo and Omantel operate cable landing stations in Salalah. The TEAMS, EASSy, LION2, and Peace landing stations are hosted and managed by Telkom Kenya, with at least one in Nyali. Seacom also operates a landing station for its cable.

Safaricom was formed in 1997 as a fully owned subsidiary of Telkom Kenya. Vodafone took a 40 percent stake and management responsibility for the company in 2000 - passing 35 percent to Vodacom in 2017 and retaining a 5 percent stake. The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed company also counts the Kenyan Government as an investor.

Safaricom is not part of any subsea cable consortiums, but Vodafone or Vodacom are part of the 2Africa and Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy) consortiums. In Oman, Vodafone is part of the Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG), Europe India Gateway (EIG), and OMRAN/EPEG consortia.

Meta has developed more than 20 subsea cables, many in partnership with local telcos.

Reports that Safaricom was looking to develop its own cable surfaced earlier this year.