Filenews 22 September 2024
The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides told Greece's OPEN Beyond channel that the Republic of Cyprus is in advanced consultations for the establishment of a joint company with the United Arab Emirates for participation in the share capital of the electricity interconnection.
Fileleftheros reports that the discussions specifically concern cooperation with the giant in energy investments, in the EU and elsewhere, state-owned company TAQA.
We remind you that on December 4, 2023, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with TAQA, together with the Independent Energy Transmission Operator of Greece (ADMIE), to promote investments in the electricity interconnection between Cyprus and Crete.
Last week, President Christodoulides visited the UAE and had contacts at the highest level to promote cooperation between the two countries on energy issues, with priority given to the joint investment between Cyprus and TAQA in the interconnection.
The cooperation between the two parties is necessary as Fileleftheros reports that TAQA's sole investment in electricity interconnection stumbles on the EU acquis, as the UAE state-owned company has huge investments in electricity generation and supply in EU countries and elsewhere.
The cooperation between Cyprus and the UAE is likely to be through a special purpose vehicle, which will invest with a very significant percentage of shares in the Great Sea Interconnector. the Republic of Cyprus will participate with €100 million. For the time being, the intention of ADMIE (of which GSI is a subsidiary) is to reduce the share capital to close to €350 million.
In his statements, President Christodoulides said, according to CNA, that the discussions between the Hellenic Republic and Cyprus on the electricity interconnection were very important, some of which took place in the presence of himself and the Greek Prime Minister, noting that "the last meeting held privately in Nicosia, on our initiative, It was crucial for us to make that first decision."
Speaking about the electricity interconnection, President Christodoulides said that there is interest from the Republic of Cyprus for participation in the share capital, saying that this is a decision that will be taken in the near future, as some data are expected for a full assessment of the situation.
The President of the Republic pointed out the importance of the contracts of the electricity interconnection project, stating that part of the project has not yet been signed (for voltage converter stations, by Siemens) and the first drafts are awaited. He pointed out that contracts are directly related to costs, pointing out that "we cannot afford under any circumstances to make a decision that will pass costs on to the consumer".
At the same time, President Christodoulides said that the Republic of Cyprus is currently in advanced consultations for the establishment of a joint company between the Republic of Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, as there is interest from the United Arab Emirates to participate in the share capital of the electricity interconnection. "Similar interest has been communicated to us by the U.S. government, but also by Qatar," he added.
Asked whether those who will participate in the economic part of the interconnection will also be allies of Cyprus and Greece in the event of a threat from Turkey, President Christodoulides said that "certainly when they invest in such a project, they are directly interested in the implementation of the project." He added that the sovereign rights of neither the Republic of Cyprus nor the Hellenic Republic are called into question, noting that "this project is subsidized with a very large amount by the European Union itself. It is a project of general interest of the European Union." He reiterated that neither Greece nor Cyprus are questioning their sovereign rights or accepting Turkish claims.
Asked if he is in an open line with the Greek Prime Minister and if there are asterisks for the electricity interconnection, President Christodoulides replied that "we talk honestly, we talk very often about this issue. We may have some different approaches that we resolve through dialogue."
