Cyprus & Egypt sign electricity connection agreement

An agreement has been signed in Cairo between Egypt and Cyprus to commission and construct the EuroAfrica Interconnector which will connect the two countries' electricity networks.

The agreement was signed by Mohamed Mashal, the head of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and Nasos Ktorides, CEO of EuroAfrica Interconnector.

The Interconnector will see a 310 km subsea cable laid in the Mediterranean waters in a deal said to be worth €2 billion, according to EuroAfrica.

The signing of the agreement followed a series of viability studies that showed the benefits of the project. It allows for the provision of the development of an electricity link, using subsea high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables with a capacity to transmit 2,000 MW.

The interconnection is set to be completed in two phases. The first phase has a transmission capacity of 1,000 MW and is set to be implemented within the time frames agreed upon with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Last June, Mr el-Sisi threw his full support behind the project and praised the good relations between Egypt and Cyprus. He dedicated a large part of his speech to Egypt's many electricity infrastructure projects which are reasserting his country as a major energy hub connecting Africa, the Middle East and Europe, via Cyprus. 

Following the signing, Ioannis Kasoulides, Chairman of the Strategic Council of the EuroAfrica Interconnector, and former Cypriot Foreign Minister said: “Today, with the historic signing agreement between EuroAfrica Interconnector and the Egyptian authorities, the first major electricity interconnection project linking Africa with Europe has been realised.”

“Cyprus now becomes a major hub for the transmission of electricity from Africa to Europe, and Egypt establishes itself as a regional energy hub for the transmission of electricity from Africa to the Arabian Peninsula,” he added.

Mohamed Shaker El-Markabi, Egypt's Minister of Electricity, also gave his full support to the project, going on to say that the Interconnector will bring economic, social and political benefits to both countries.

With the instability in Ukraine, the European Union has been keen to diversify its energy supply away from Russian imports. 

Egypt for its part is keen to continue pumping gas from its Mediterranean coast fields and the country is already able to meet domestic needs. The country is keen to import gas from Cyprus, however, in order to boost the profitability of its own liquefaction and export facilities. Last September, the two countries also signed a deal to build an undersea pipeline to pump gas from Cyprus to Egypt.

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