Palau Spur subsea cable 2 (PC2)

The PC2 cable contributes to SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure by providing sustainable and resilient infrastructure for Palau to ensure that offshore financial, technological and technical support is always available in the country. PC2 supplements a first cable to ensure network security and resilience for communications in/out of Palau. The availability of resilient submarine cable capacity from Palau has substantially reduced costs to users thus expanding affordable access to a wider range of customers and enabling access to a wider range of services.​

​The Palau National Development Plan identifies the need for a resilient submarine cable network as essential for the efficient operation of the economy.

By providing supplemental and redundant capacity PC2 is critical to ensuring the resilience of all business, government and social functions in Palau as high-speed connectivity has permeated every aspect of life. ​

The cable landing station was sited at an elevation to limit exposure to storm surges and sea-level rise due to climate change.

The cable landing point and terrestrial path is specifically designed to not have any impact on local biodiversity. The cable lands an existing quay that in the past had been used as a bauxite loading wharf, and then proceeds along a road, ensuring that the cable was always more than 100m from any conservation area. ​

During construction, the project used silt traps, spoil covers and methods to minimise any impact. The existing road was improved to reduce silt creation, through better surfacing and construction of rock retaining walls, where existing erosion exists. The causeway was also improved to reduce current silt and soil contamination of the shallow sea areas. These actions served to improve the water quality. ​

Capital investment was planned in such a way to deliver project civil works, meet environmental and social obligations and generate improvements. In fact, additional capital was allowed for to deal with any unexpected improvements that may not be material to the project. This has resulted in the local population (mainly indigenous people) having their sea access road improved, the causeway remediated (it was crumbling in places), and an additional boat launching facility built at a location chosen by the local population.