Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 27, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Greece reviews costs for its undersea power link to Cyprus, aiming to attract new investors amid geopolitical delays.
ATHENS, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Greece will hire an external adviser to review costs for a stalled project to build one of the world's largest undersea power cable and link mainland Europe to Cyprus, the Greek energy minister said on Tuesday, as it seeks new investment.
Known as the Great Sea Interconnector, the scheme, with a budget of 1.9 billion euros ($2.26 billion), in part provided by the European Union, has been delayed by geopolitical tensions in the eastern Mediterranean and as Cyprus has repeatedly sought clarifications on the total cost, viability and any liabilities for unforeseen delays.
The Greek transmission operator IPTO is building the link, with a planned capacity of 1,000 megawatts, after taking over in late 2023 from a Cyprus-based operator that had been working on the project for about a decade.
Both Greece and Cyprus have reaffirmed their commitment to the cable in recent months, and Cyprus said it has approached the United Arab Emirates for possible cooperation on the project.
"The decision by Greece and Cyprus is that we move ahead, that there will be updated numbers by a house, one of the most renowned ones in the world, and with that, to attract investors either from the Middle East or the Americas," Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said in an interview with Greek Open television on Tuesday.
"I hope this will be a new start," he said, adding that a larger base of investors will allow for the implementation of the scheme.
French cable maker Nexans, which has won a 1.4 billion euro contract to supply the cable, said this month it was renegotiating the delivery schedule, acknowledging delays.
($1 = 0.8425 euros)
(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by Barbara Lewis)
An undersea power cable is a type of cable that transmits electricity across bodies of water, connecting different land masses or islands to the main power grid.
Project financing is a method of funding in which lenders provide capital to a project based on the projected cash flows and assets of the project, rather than the balance sheets of its sponsors.
A megawatt is a unit of power equal to one million watts, commonly used to measure the output of power plants and the consumption of large electrical loads.
The European Union often provides funding and support for infrastructure projects within its member states to promote economic development and connectivity.
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