El Salvador Submarine Cable Consultancy Tender Opens With CAF
El Salvador · TECHNOLOGY
Key Facts
- —What happened CAF opened a tender for consultancy studies supporting SIGET; bids close on 4 September 2026 and are open to national and foreign firms and consortia.
- —How big SIGET signed a turnkey contract above US$130 million with Liberty Networks in December 2025 for a roughly 1,800 km cable to Panama.
- —The catch Deployment is set to start in late 2026 and the cable is due in service only in the second half of 2028.
- —Who pays A US$145 million CAF loan approved in July 2024 and ratified by the Legislative Assembly in August 2024 and again in October 2025.
- —What comes next National capacity is expected to rise from 4-5 Tbps to 16-20 Tbps within five years, with the cable designed for a 25-year life.
Bids for consultancy studies close 4 September 2026 as the US$130 million-plus Liberty Networks cable to Panama advances.
CAF, the development bank of Latin America, has opened a tender for consultancy studies supporting El Salvador’s electricity and telecommunications regulator SIGET, with bids due on 4 September 2026. The technical, economic, financial and regulatory studies relate to the country’s first El Salvador submarine cable, a roughly 1,800-kilometer link to Panama now under contract with Liberty Networks.
What the CAF Tender Covers
The El Salvador submarine cable tender seeks consultants to produce technical, economic, financial and regulatory studies supporting SIGET, the Superintendencia General de Electricidad y Telecomunicaciones.
National and foreign firms may bid, and consortia are also welcome. Offers must be submitted by 4 September 2026.
The studies will underpin the institutional side of the El Salvador submarine cable project as it moves from contract signing toward deployment.
Opening the consultancy to international bidders suggests the government wants specialized submarine-cable expertise that is scarce in the local market.
CAF’s role as tender organizer also reflects its position as the project’s lender. Running the consultancy competition through the bank adds a layer of procurement oversight to the El Salvador submarine cable program.
The Liberty Networks Contract Behind the Cable
In December 2025, SIGET signed a contract with Liberty Networks valued at more than US$130 million. The deal is turnkey, meaning the contractor delivers the system ready to operate.
The cable will run approximately 1,800 kilometers from El Salvador to Panama. It is the country’s first submarine cable project.
Deployment is scheduled to begin in late 2026, with the cable entering service in the second half of 2028. The system is designed for a 25-year life.
A turnkey structure transfers construction risk to the contractor, an important consideration for a country executing its first marine cable project without prior in-house experience.
Panama’s position as a regional cable hub makes it the logical landing partner for the link.
Once live, the El Salvador submarine cable is expected to lift national capacity from the current 4-5 Tbps to 16-20 Tbps within five years.
How the Project Is Financed
The financing backbone is a US$145 million loan from CAF. The bank approved the credit in July 2024.
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly ratified the loan in August 2024 and again in October 2025, completing the required approvals.
That loan comfortably covers the US$130 million Liberty Networks contract and leaves room for associated costs such as the consultancy studies now out to tender.
The structure means the state, through SIGET, owns the project while a private operator builds it, a model common for strategic infrastructure in the region.
The two ratification votes, more than a year apart, also show the project has maintained legislative backing across an extended approval process rather than slipping through in a single session.
Why El Salvador’s First Cable Matters
El Salvador has never landed its own submarine cable. Its international connectivity has depended on terrestrial fiber links crossing neighboring countries to reach cable landing stations abroad.
That dependence carries costs: transit fees, longer routes and exposure to any disruption along the path. Landing a cable directly changes the economics of connectivity.
A direct link to Panama, a major hub for submarine cables in the Americas, gives Salvadoran traffic a short route to global networks.
Policymakers expect the added capacity, from 4-5 Tbps to as much as 16-20 Tbps, to lower data costs and support data centers, cloud services and digital businesses.
For ordinary users, the effects would arrive indirectly: more wholesale capacity tends to translate into cheaper and faster retail internet over time. For businesses, a direct landing reduces dependence on routes through third countries and improves redundancy when a terrestrial link fails.
Timeline to 2028
The near-term milestone is the consultancy tender, closing 4 September 2026. Deployment work with Liberty Networks is set to start in late 2026.
Cable manufacturing and marine installation typically take well over a year, which is why service is targeted for the second half of 2028.
With a 25-year design life, the system is intended as long-lived national infrastructure rather than a stopgap.
Until it enters service, El Salvador’s international traffic will keep flowing over the terrestrial routes the El Salvador submarine cable is meant to complement and eventually supersede.
Each phase has a public checkpoint: the tender result after 4 September 2026, the start of deployment in late 2026, and commissioning in 2028. Those dates give observers clear points to measure progress against.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did CAF tender for El Salvador’s submarine cable?
Consultancy studies, technical, economic, financial and regulatory, supporting SIGET. Bids close on 4 September 2026 and are open to national and foreign firms and consortia.
Who is building El Salvador’s first submarine cable?
Liberty Networks, under a turnkey contract above US$130 million signed with SIGET in December 2025. The cable runs about 1,800 km to Panama and is due in service in the second half of 2028.
How is the submarine cable financed?
Through a US$145 million CAF loan approved in July 2024 and ratified by the Legislative Assembly in August 2024 and October 2025.
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