Government recognises public interest in Google’s submarine cable in Sines
Project ’Nuvem', which connects Portugal to the US via the Azores and Bermuda, is part of a National Ecological Reserve. The government has granted it special status because it is of public interest.
On Wednesday, the government recognised Google’s submarine cable connecting Portugal, via Sines, and the east coast of the United States as being of significant public interest. The transatlantic project, called ‘Nuvem’ (Cloud), which will pass through the Azores, has been recognised by the Portuguese state as an investment of interest and benefit to the population.
The decision is possible because the project does not require an environmental impact assessment, as it is not likely to cause significant negative environmental effects, as concluded in an opinion by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA). In addition, it received the “green light” from the Alentejo Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) and the Sines Municipal Assembly after a proposal by the City Council.
Following a request from the American technology company AECOM, which is responsible for licensing the submarine cable system in Portugal, the opinion of the CCDR of Alentejo concluded that there is “a need to implement the project and no viable alternative in areas not included in the National Ecological Reserve (REN)”.
In practice, an action of significant public interest is a special status granted to a project considered to be in the public interest, through which the State guarantees that critical infrastructure, such as connectivity/communication networks, energy or sanitation, can be built even in more sensitive areas.
In turn, companies gain approval to build these facilities in areas included in the REN or the National Agricultural Reserve (RAN), which would otherwise be prohibited. Actions of significant public interest avoid licensing obstacles due to territorial incompatibility and can even speed up environmental, urban planning or agricultural licensing — in this case, this does not apply, because the APA concluded that it is exempt from environmental impact assessment.
“The aforementioned project aims to install the aforementioned cable (by burying it) in an area covered by the REN, in the municipality of Sines, on land, with a view to providing a significant increase in international connectivity, as well as contributing to the fulfilment of the Strategy of the National Spatial Planning Policy Programme and the Agenda for the Territory”, reads the order signed by the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion and the Minister of Environment and Energy.
The decree stipulates that this recognition is conditional on “the implementation of the minimisation measures contained in the project and other applicable legal and regulatory standards”.
‘Nuvem’ arrives in 2026
‘Nuvem’ will be the first cable system to connect Bermuda to Europe, with South Carolina as its mooring point in the United States. It is expected to be ready in 2026 to “improve the resilience of the Atlantic network and help meet the growing demand for digital services”.
The announcement of this investment by Google in Portugal was made in September 2023, during the previous government of António Costa. The then Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, said that the Mountain View multinational’s investment materialised “the vision for Portugal in the telecommunications and data sectors: to establish our country as a gateway for prosperous connectivity to Europe, promoting robust connections with other continents”.
