Completion in 2027... Leading the US Submarine Cable Market
Secured About 200 Billion KRW Support Including IRA
Largest Scale Among Global Cable Companies
Submarine Business Expected to Accelerate
LS Cable & System will invest approximately 1 trillion KRW to build the largest submarine cable factory in the United States.
Aerial view of the LS Greenlink factory, a subsidiary of LS Cable & System in the United States, located in Virginia. Photo by LS Cable & System
On the 10th, LS Cable & System announced that it will construct a factory with a total floor area of 70,000㎡ on a 396,700㎡ (about 120,000 pyeong) site along the Elizabeth River in Chesapeake, Virginia. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 and be completed in 2027. The factory will also feature the world's tallest power cable production tower, standing 200 meters high.
LS Cable & System anticipates that the U.S. submarine cable market will grow at an average annual rate of over 30% for the next decade and has established and is executing a proactive strategy to secure market leadership. An LS Cable & System official explained, "Most offshore wind power projects in the U.S. are being promoted along the East Coast, and Chesapeake offers optimal location conditions for bidding, shipping, and transportation."
Along with the factory construction, LS Cable & System will receive approximately $48 million (about 66.5 billion KRW) in subsidies and tax benefits from the state government. Including $99 million (about 137.1 billion KRW) in support from the Department of Energy's (DOE) Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a total of $147 million (about 202.7 billion KRW) in support has been secured. This is the largest scale of support among global cable companies operating in the U.S.
LS Cable & System CEO Koo Bon-gyu emphasized, "This investment will strengthen our capabilities to meet the rapidly increasing global demand for submarine cables and contribute to solidifying LS Cable & System's position as a global leading company." Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin responded, "Virginia's skilled workforce, world-class location conditions, and business environment attracted LS Greenlink's investment." Karen Merrick, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade, welcomed the partnership, saying, "We are proud that LS Greenlink has become Virginia's partner in emerging as a hub for the global offshore wind industry."
Industry insiders expect that with the full-scale construction of LS Cable & System's U.S. factory, the construction of large cable-laying vessels by LS Marine Solutions and the advancement of LS Eco Energy's European submarine projects will also accelerate.
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