South Korea’s telecom giant KT Corp. bagged a 53 billion won ($47 million) deal to build an optical communication network in the Philippines, a deal that is expected to pave the way for additional orders in smart energy and disaster prevention fields.

According to KT on Thursday, the latest contract is a part of the Philippines’ national network building project spearheaded by Converge ICT Solutions, Philippine broadband service provider.

Under the contract, KT will be responsible for installation of a 1,570-kilometer long optical cable system in the northern area of Luzon, the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Building materials will be supplied from Korea, said KT.

The Philippines consisting of about 7,000 islands is notorious for low-speed internet and poor communication systems due to geographical reasons.

The Korean telecom company hopes the latest project would bring more business opportunities in the Southeast Asian country that has kept up its efforts to build various smart energy as well as disaster prevention and safety infrastructure. So far this year, the company has successfully completed construction of 5,500-kilometer-long optical cables in other Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar and Bangladesh.

By Lim Sung-hyun and Lee Ha-yeon

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