Meridiam SAS agreed to buy a stake in Greece’s 1.9-billion-euro project to link its power grid with Cyprus and Israel through undersea cables across the eastern Mediterranean, according to Bloomberg news agency.
Under the agreement, the French infrastructure investor will acquire a 49.9% stake in the Great Sea Interconnector project, while Greek grid operator IPTO will retain 50.1%.
The two partners have been in discussions for a long time, having even signed a relevant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last June.
Reliable sources who spoke to “N” confirmed that the relevant discussions are making progress, without excluding new similar news in the near future. It is noted that attracting investors was the initial goal of IPTO as soon as it took over the project from Euroasia Interconnector, recognizing both the criticality of the project and the importance of it enjoying the support of the international community.
The project budget amounts to 1.9 billion euros. As for the progress of the implementation of the works, the final bathymetric studies are currently “running” for the finalization of the layout of the submarine cable route.
The Greece-Cyprus-Israel electricity interconnection project, with a total length of 898 km, is one of the largest electricity interconnection projects in the world, pioneering the laying of cables at a depth of 3,000 m and innovative technology of conversion stations (High Voltage Direct Current). The project is included in the Projects of Common Interest (PCIs), with the Commission having already approved a grant of 657 million euros for the Cyprus-Crete section.
