Al Ghariya, Qatar

Al Ghariya, Qatar: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Al Ghariya is a landing point on the Qatari coast, serving as a terminus for submarine cables that connect Qatar to the broader Gulf region and beyond. Two submarine cables land at Al Ghariya, making it one of the active cable landing points in a country whose submarine cable infrastructure spans four distinct locations. The cables landing here collectively reach across the Arabian Gulf and extend as far as the Indian subcontinent, enabling both regional Gulf connectivity and longer-distance intercontinental links.

The two cables at Al Ghariya represent distinct generations of Gulf submarine infrastructure. The Gulf Bridge International Cable System/Middle East North Africa Cable System, which entered service in 2012, connects Qatar to a set of countries spanning the Gulf and extending to India. The Fibre in Gulf cable, with a ready-for-service date of 2027, forms part of a newer generation of intra-Gulf systems. Together, the two cables at Al Ghariya serve corridors that are primarily regional in character, with one system extending to South Asia to provide an intercontinental dimension.

Cables Landing at Al Ghariya, Qatar

The Gulf Bridge International Cable System/Middle East North Africa Cable System (GBICS/MENA) is a 5,270-kilometre cable that reached service in 2012. Beyond Qatar, it lands in Bahrain, India, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Oman. Its routing connects the Arabian Gulf states to each other and extends east to India, placing Al Ghariya within a system that spans from the upper Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

The Fibre in Gulf (FIG) cable is a 1,931-kilometre system with a scheduled ready-for-service date of 2027. It connects Qatar with Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. As a Gulf-focused system, FIG links the principal Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iraq through a relatively compact regional loop, and Al Ghariya serves as Qatar's landing point on this network.

Regional Context

Within Qatar, Al Ghariya ranks as a secondary landing point behind Doha, which hosts six cables and serves as the country's primary submarine cable hub. Al Ghariya's two cables place it alongside Al-Kheesa and Halul Island, each of which hosts a single cable, while Al Daayen also holds one cable. Al Ghariya therefore sits in the middle tier of Qatar's four active landing point locations by cable count.

Network Role

Al Ghariya functions as a dual-cable landing point that supports Qatar's participation in two distinct Gulf-area systems. Through GBICS/MENA, it connects Qatar to the wider arc of Gulf states and to India, providing an intercontinental path eastward. Through FIG, once that system enters service in 2027, it will add a dedicated intra-Gulf circuit linking Qatar to all of its immediate Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, neither of which appears on the GBICS/MENA route.

The combination of an established intercontinental system and an upcoming regional system makes Al Ghariya a point where Qatar's external and intra-Gulf connectivity intersect. Within the regional submarine cable graph, Al Ghariya's dual landing distinguishes it from Qatar's single-cable locations and reinforces the country's overall footprint across the Gulf's submarine cable infrastructure.