The Cabinet authorised Ministers of Finance and Energy to take the final investment decision on Cyprus participation on the “Great Sea Interconnector” project, aim to link the electricity grids of Greece-Cyprus and Israel. The decision will follow the completion of certain control actions described in the proposal

In his statements after the meeting of the Cabinet, Minister of Energy, George Papanastasiou, said that the Cabinet confirmed the intention of the Republic of Cyprus to participate in the share capital of the Great Sea Interconnector, formerly Euroasia Interconnector, for an amount of up to 100 million euros.

As he explained, certain sustainability reports of the project need to be updated.

"Studies will be conducted jointly with other interested parties, such as Independent Power Transmission Operator of Greece (IPTO), who is also an implementing agency," he said.

He added that investment funds, such as the investment fund of the United Arab Emirates, TAQA, and of course, Cyprus, were also involved.

Papanastasiou said that a thorough study of the legal and economic aspects of the project will also be conducted. Once these studies are completed and given the green light, he added, the Ministers of Finance and Energy will bring the recommendation for the final investment decision to the Cabinet.

"It is worth noting that the project is a major one, with a cost of 1.9 billion euro, involving the electrical interconnection of Cyprus with Crete and, of course, with Europe, as Crete will soon be connected to mainland Greece and the connection of Cyprus with Israel," he said.

He clarified that the first connection with Crete involves a 879 km electrical cable, and the connection with Israel involves a cable of about 350 km. They will be at depths of 3 km in the sea, and the Israel-Cyprus-Greece project will be funded by the European Commission with an amount of 657 million euros as a project of common interest.