Haql, Saudi Arabia

Haql: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Haql is a city in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, situated within Tabuk Province near the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Its coastal position on the Gulf of Aqaba places it at a natural intersection between the Red Sea corridor and the eastern Mediterranean, making it a geographically distinct landing point within Saudi Arabia's submarine cable infrastructure. Three submarine cables land at Haql, connecting the city to destinations across Europe and within Saudi Arabia itself.

The cables landing at Haql establish connections toward Greece, Israel, Italy, and France, forming a corridor that links northwestern Saudi Arabia directly to southern and western European endpoints. Two of the three cables are scheduled for readiness in 2027, while one entered service in 2023, indicating that Haql is an actively developing node in the regional submarine cable network. The intercontinental reach of the EMC West-1 and EMC West-2 systems, combined with the domestic Saudi Vision cable, gives Haql a dual regional and international character.

Cables Landing at Haql

EMC West-2 is a 3,978 km submarine cable with a projected ready-for-service (RFS) date of 2027. In addition to Haql in Saudi Arabia, EMC West-2 connects to landing points in France, Greece, and Israel. The system extends from the Gulf of Aqaba region through the eastern Mediterranean toward Western Europe, representing one of the longer cable systems landing at Haql.

EMC West-1 is a 3,639 km submarine cable also scheduled for RFS in 2027. It connects Haql to landing points in Greece, Israel, and Italy. Like EMC West-2, this system routes through the eastern Mediterranean, providing direct links between northwestern Saudi Arabia and southern European nations.

Saudi Vision is a 1,071 km submarine cable that entered service in 2023. Its endpoints are entirely within Saudi Arabia, making it a domestic cable that links Haql to other Saudi landing points. At 1,071 km, it is considerably shorter than the two EMC West systems and serves an intra-national rather than intercontinental connectivity role.

Regional Context

Saudi Arabia hosts 24 submarine cables across six landing points, with Jeddah dominating the national cable landscape at 16 cables. Haql, with three cables, ranks in the top third of Saudi Arabian landing points by cable count, placing it ahead of Neom (1 cable) and broadly comparable in scale to Duba and Yanbu (5 cables each), though behind Al Khobar (6 cables). Haql's geographic position in the northwest distinguishes it from the more established Red Sea and Arabian Gulf hubs.

Network Role

Haql serves as a multi-cable landing point that bridges northwestern Saudi Arabia to the eastern Mediterranean and, via the EMC West-2 system, to Western Europe. The two EMC West cables together create parallel intercontinental routes toward Greece and Israel, with EMC West-1 extending further to Italy and EMC West-2 to France. The Saudi Vision cable complements these international links by connecting Haql domestically within Saudi Arabia. With both EMC West systems still in a draft/planned status for 2027, Haql is in an active phase of network build-out rather than a fully mature hub.

The combination of intercontinental and domestic cables at a single northwestern Saudi landing point means Haql occupies a specific niche in the regional submarine cable graph — one that routes Gulf of Aqaba traffic toward Europe rather than through the traditional Red Sea or Arabian Gulf corridors that characterize the cable portfolios at Jeddah and Al Khobar.