Construction of Cable Section for Crete-Cyprus Interconnector Begins

Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or ADMIE) on Friday announced the commencement of construction of the cable section for the initial leg of the flagship project entailed in the country’s interconnection with the grids of Israel and Cyprus.

The cable section specifically refers to the Crete-Cyprus interconnection, marking the first significant step in the contract signed last July, according to IPTO.

The development follows the successful completion of an asset purchase agreement with the previous project promoter. Additionally, IPTO cited the transfer of contracts with Nexans and Siemens, along with the relocation of a 657-million-euro grant agreement from the European Union’s Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment (CINEA) to the transmission operator.

CINEA recently disbursed an advance payment of 55 million euros as part of the 657-million-million “First Notice to Proceed” to Nexans, initiating construction of the cable connection.

In a press release on Friday, IPTO adds that “…Simultaneously, efforts are underway to attract new investors into the equity of Great Sea Interconnection, with agreements signed with the Israeli fund Aluma and a Memorandum of Understanding between IPTO, the Ministry of Energy, Trade, and Industry of Cyprus, and the TAQA fund from the United Arab Emirates. Recently, there has been heightened interest from investment funds in USA and other countries, as evidenced by discussions with IPTO.”