The short version: the subsea section of the Trans-Caspian fibre-optic cable is finished, and Kazakhstan's government expects the line to go live in October. On land, the 4,511-km West–East backbone from the Caspian port of Aktau to Khorgos on the Chinese border is about half built, with commissioning targeted before the end of the year. Once both are running, there will be a continuous data route from Azerbaijan, across the Caspian and Kazakhstan, to China's doorstep.
The update came at a government meeting on 6 October that reviewed progress on the Digital Qazaqstan strategy. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev told the cabinet that all 390 km of subsea cable between the coast at Sumgait and the coast at Aktau had been laid, and that the launch was scheduled for this month.
The subsea leg: paid for by the operators
The Trans-Caspian line is a joint project of Kazakhtelecom and AzerTelecom International, built and to be operated by their joint venture, CaspiLink B.V. According to the Prime Minister's office on 5 August, work began in 2025 with surveys, route selection and cable testing. Marine laying started in July 2026 and ran around the clock from a specialised vessel of more than 20,000 tonnes displacement, with 70 specialists involved.
The cable came ashore in Kazakhstan in August, which closed out the hardest phase. What remains is shore infrastructure, commissioning and testing. The operators are funding the project themselves, with no money from the state budget.
The land leg: half still to go
The West–East backbone is being built under a memorandum between the AI and digital development ministry and Freedom Holding, with Freedom Cloud Holding and ASTEL JSC as the builders. On 6 August Freedom Cloud Holding described a route of roughly 4,500 km linking Aktau and Khorgos, with more than 2,200 km of cable already in the ground.
On 6 October the official line was that half of the 4,511 km had been laid and the backbone would be commissioned by year-end. In other words, the public figure barely moved between early August and early October, and roughly 2,300 km would need to go in over less than three months. Whether that timetable holds will show up in the ministry's next updates.
Rules related to this news
Madiyev's report included a few other numbers: more than 4,000 5G base stations are now running in over 20 cities, and Direct-to-Cell satellite-to-smartphone service has been launched with Beeline and Starlink Mobile. Android is supported, iOS is still in the works.
Why Chinese companies should pay attention
A new path for cross-border traffic. Chinese firms with operations spread across Central Asia, the South Caucasus, Turkey or Europe need route diversity. Put the West–East backbone together with the Trans-Caspian cable and you get a westbound path that starts right at the Chinese border. What has not been disclosed is how the backbone will interconnect with networks on the Chinese side at Khorgos, or when and on what terms capacity will be sold. Companies that need answers should go to the operators directly.
Groundwork for data centres and cloud. Speaking aboard the cable-laying ship in August, Madiyev said the new route would lay the foundation for AI, cloud and modern data centres. tumah.kz has previously covered the Akashi data centre in Astana and plans for an AI data centre in Ekibastuz; international capacity and route redundancy are basic requirements for projects like these.
A practical issue for Middle Corridor logistics. Aktau, where the backbone begins, is the Caspian hub of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Paperwork, cargo tracking and customs systems increasingly depend on reliable connectivity, so better links along the corridor matter for anyone with sites on it.
Exact launch dates should be checked against official announcements from the operators and the ministry.
(The cover image is an AI-generated illustration and does not depict actual events.)
Sources:
Office of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (government meeting, 6 October), https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/v-pravitelstve-rassmotreli-ispolnenie-porucheniy-prezidenta-po-realizacii-meropriyatiy-strategii-digital-qazaqstan-31961
Office of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (subsea laying completed, 5 August), https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/v-kazahstane-zavershen-klyuchevoy-etap-stroitelstva-transkaspiyskoy-volokonno-opticheskoy-linii-svyazi-31740
Zakon.kz, https://www.zakon.kz/nauka/6533934-vols-zapustyat-v-kazakhstane-v-oktyabre--zhaslan-madiev.html
Kazinform, https://www.inform.kz/ru/transkaspiyskuyu-vols-zapustyat-vkazahstane-voktyabre-zhaslan-madiev-56f43364
Kursiv, https://kz.kursiv.media/2026-10-06/fvfv-internet-kabel-mezhdu-kazahstanom-i-azerbaydzhanom-zapustyat-v-oktyabre/
Interfax-Kazakhstan, https://www.interfax.kz/ru/financial-and-economic-news/142927
Freedom Cloud Holding, https://fch.kz/vicze-ministr-miiczr-posetil-uchastok-stroitelstva-gipermagistrali-zapad-vostok/
BAQ.kz, https://rus.baq.kz/ot-aktau-do-horgosa-bolee-22-tysyachi-kilometrov-tsifrovoy-gipermagistrali-uzhe-gotovy-320038261/
Key facts
- The offshore section of Kazakhstan’s Trans-Caspian submarine fiber-optic cable is 390 kilometres long and has been fully laid.
- The Government of Kazakhstan plans to commission the offshore section of the Trans-Caspian submarine fiber-optic cable in October.
- The 4511-kilometre overland “West–East” fiber-optic trunk line from Aktau to Khorgos is half laid, with commissioning targeted before the end of the year.
- Once the two sections are connected, Kazakhstan will gain a land-and-sea data corridor through the Caspian Sea to the border with China.
- The method of connecting Kazakhstan’s overland trunk line to the network on the Chinese side and the bandwidth sales terms have not been made public.
- The Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable project is funded by two operators, with no use of Kazakhstan’s state budget.
FAQ
When will Kazakhstan’s Trans-Caspian submarine fiber-optic cable be put into operation?
At an October 6 meeting, the Government of Kazakhstan said that the 390-kilometre offshore section had been fully laid and was planned to be commissioned in October. The exact commissioning date will be announced formally by the operators and the competent authorities.
What progress has been made on the construction of the overland fiber-optic trunk line from Aktau to Khorgos?
The overland “West–East” fiber-optic trunk line is 4511 kilometres in total. On October 6, officials said that half had been laid, with commissioning targeted before the end of the year.
What will the connection of the two cable sections mean for Chinese companies?
Once the two sections are connected, they will form a land-and-sea data corridor from the South Caucasus, through the Caspian Sea and across Kazakhstan to the border with China. Chinese companies operating in these regions will have an additional cross-border data-routing option. Data center, cloud service and Middle Corridor logistics companies may also take an interest.
Have the interconnection with China’s network and the bandwidth sales terms been made clear?
This has not yet been made clear. Publicly available information does not specify how the corridor will connect to the network on the Chinese side of Khorgos, when bandwidth will become externally available, or the terms on which it will be sold.
Does the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable project use state budget funds?
A statement from the Office of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan showed that all project funding comes from two operators and that no state budget funds have been used.