Greece and Cyprus have agreed to an Israeli request to lay a power cable to Europe via the two Mediterranean nations.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the national Infrastructure Minister of Israel, Uzi Landau, Cypriot commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Neoklis Silikiotis and Greek Deputy Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change met in Nicosia for the final discussions in regard to the power cable connecting Greece and Cyprus with Israel.
The Israel-to-Europe cable will be built by the Israel Electric Corporation and PPP Quantum Energy, which is controlled by the Greek power utility and Cypriot companies. Israel and Cyprus signed an accord to lay the underwater cable in March.
The cable will be 870 kilometers (540 miles long) long, buried at a depth of more than 2,000 meters (656 feet) and have a capacity of 2,000 megawatts – “one of the biggest in the world,” according to Yakov Hain, Senior Vice President of engineering projects at IEC.
Ultimately, electricity lines will run from Israel to Cyprus to Crete, and then through the exisiting cable to mainland Greece, enabling the connection of European and Asian electricity supplies. The cost of the project should be roughly 1.5 billion euros, ($1.9 billion) but there is no official estimate yet, he added.
The so-called “Euro-Asia Interconnect,” is “a historic event — no more Israel as an economic island,” Israel Electric Corporation CEO Yiftach Ron Tal said at the signing.
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