PERM, April 30. /TASS/. Perm's Incab plant, supported by the Industrial Development Fund (IDF), launched production of fiber-optic cable cores for underwater communication lines in the Far East and the Arctic Zone, the Perm Region's Governor posted on Max.

"A new production line has been launched in Perm with the support of the Industrial Development Fund," the post reads. "Here has begun the production of the underwater fiber-optic cable core. This is the central part responsible for transmitting the signal. The new production facility contributes to solving an important state task - the development of the Arctic Zone and the Far East. The cable will be used in building underwater communication lines to deliver the Internet signal to most remote locations in this country."

The company plans to produce more than 2,400 km of cable a year, which accounts for almost 50% of the Russian market in this area, the governor continued. According to the local government, the optical core produced in the region will be used to manufacture underwater cables up to 50 km long. The company's engineers have developed a new sealing system to minimize disruptions, in situations where anchors of passing vessels may damage or cut the cable. This way, in case of repairs, specialists will have to replace shorter cable lines.

The production is a full-cycle interregional project, the Industrial Development Fund said. The Perm Region is now producing an optical core, a semi-finished cable, which is transported to the Primorsky Region, where underwater fiber-optic cable will be manufactured. The total investment in the project will amount to 1 billion rubles ($13 million). Concessional money of 315 million rubles ($4 million) borrowed from the Industrial Development Fund has been used to purchase equipment for the Perm site, and another 454 million rubles ($6 million) have been used to equip the enterprise in the Primorsky Region.

"Thanks to the loan from the federal Industrial Development Fund, we are building a full-cycle interregional production chain. We produce the core in Perm, and the finished underwater cable is made in the Primorsky Region. The new production facility satisfies a critical infrastructure demand for development of the Arctic and the Far East, and also ensures technological sovereignty in a critically important segment of the communications infrastructure. Noteworthy, the Perm site has become a national center for optical cable system technologies with the potential for the industry's further development," Incab's CEO Alexander Smilgevich said.

The production of underwater cables is among priorities of the Communications Industry Development Strategy to 2035. The core manufactured in the Perm Region is on the register of Russian Domestic Products.

About the company and the Industrial Development Fund

Incab Group of Companies (with Incab in the Perm Region and Incab in the Primorsky Region) is Russia's biggest fiber-optic cable manufacturer. The group's main production facility is located in Perm.

The Industrial Development Fund was established to upgrade the Russian industry, organize new production facilities and ensure replacement of earlier imported products. The fund offers to Russian enterprises access to preferential loan financing necessary to launch production of unique domestic products, as well as of analogues of advanced international developments.