The proposal submitted jointly by the ministers of energy and finance in relation to Cyprus’ participation as shareholder in the Great Sea Interconnector continues to be discussed by the cabinet on Wednesday.
The cabinet debate began last Friday and approval of the Council of Ministers has been requested for participation of the Republic in the Cyprus-Crete electrical interconnection project.
A decision had been initially expected on Friday after Energy Minister George Papanastasiou and Finance Minister Makis Keravnos presented their proposal on the matter to cabinet, but a decision was not reached.
The Great Sea Interconnector, formerly known as the EuroAsia Interconnector, is a plan to connect the electricity networks of Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, via a deep subsea cable, and has a planned capacity of 2,000 megawatts.
After the cabinet meeting, Papanastasiou confirmed that the interconnector will cost a total of €657 million and will be subsidised by the European Union.
The implementing body of the project is the Independent Electricity Transmission Operator (IEO) of Greece.
The distance between Cyprus and Israel is 380km and about 900km from Cyprus to Crete, while the water depths between Cyprus and Crete are between 3-3.5km and between Israel and Cyprus 2-2.5km.
The company that manufactures the cable, Nexans, has French interests and the cable is manufactured in Norway.