The agreement for the sale of 20% of the subsidiary of IPTO and implementing body of the Crete-Attica electricity interconnection, Ariadne Interconnection, to State Grid International Development (SGID), was signed by the Chairman and CEO of the Operator Manos Manousakis and the Chairman of SGID, Yu Jun.
The signing of the agreement took place in the presence of the Secretary General for Energy & Mineral Resources, Ministry of Environment & Energy, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Greece, Fang Qiu, and the Executive Vice President of State Grid Corporation of China, Jin Wei. The ceremony was also attended by senior executives of IPTO, IPTO Holdings and State Grid.
In his opening remarks, Aivaliotis praised the cooperation between IPTO and State Grid, underlining the importance of electrical interconnections in the country’s energy transformation. “Greece envisions developing into a major energy hub and electrical interconnections will play a decisive role in this direction. The State welcomes this new cooperation with the friendly country of China and supports IPTO in the important projects it is implementing for the country,” he said.
“A vote of confidence in IPTO and the Crete-Attica electricity interconnection project”
On his part, Manousakis stressed that the participation of State Grid International Development into the shareholding structure of Ariadne Interconnection constitutes a strong vote of confidence in both IPTO and the Crete-Attica electricity interconnection project itself. “IPTO has proven to be a modern and extroverted European Operator, with know-how and an ambitious strategy. Our investments are oriented towards accelerating the energy transition and making Greece a strong infrastructure hub, at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia. Strategic partnerships, such as the one with the State Grid Corporation of China, the Operator of the largest electricity transmission system in the world, contribute to achieving the above. Building on this relationship, I am confident that the investment participation of State Grid International Development will strengthen the development prospects of Ariadne, the entity implementing the largest island interconnection that Greece has seen to date,” he stated.
Regarding the progress of the project, the head of IPTO stated that the construction of the Crete-Attica electrical interconnection will be completed by the end of the year, and then its test electrification will follow, with the aim of putting it into commercial operation in the summer of 2025.
