Greece’s IPTO, Abu Dhabi’s TAQA & Cyprus’ energy ministry sign MoU during COP28 in Dubai

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Monday in Dubai by Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), the Republic of Cyprus’ Ministry of Energy, Commerce & Industry and Abu Dhabi-based energy conglomerate TAQA, it was reported on Tuesday.

At a special event held at the Greek Ministry of Environment & Energy’s COP28 pavilion, in the context of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28), the MoU was signed by Cyprus’ Minister of Energy, Commerce & Industry Giorgos Papanastasiou, IPTO President & CEO Manos Manousakis, and TAQA Executive Board Member Jasim Husain Thabet. Greek Deputy Minister of Environment & Energy Alexandra Sdoukou was present in the signing.

The MoU concerns the framework of negotiations between the three parties for the entry of Cyprus and TAQA into IPTO’s special purpose subsidiary company ‘GreatSea Interconnector’, which is the new implementation body – having succeeded EuroAsia Interconnector – of the electrical interconnection of Greece (Crete), Cyprus and Israel. The MoU aims to accelerate the implementation of the Crete-Cyprus section, which shows the highest degree of maturity.

The Greece-Cyprus-Israel electrical interconnection is entering the construction phase, noted Manousakis, “starting with the cable section of the Crete-Cyprus interconnection, with ‘Nexans’ as the contractor,” underlined Manousakis.

The MoU “creates the right conditions for speeding up construction, especially the first segment of it,” noted Sdoukou, adding that the Greek energy ministry will provide IPTO with any assistance so as “to implement this project of strategic importance.”

Welcoming the signing, Greek Environment & Energy Minister Theodoros Skylakakis noted that TAQA’s technical know-how “will contribute decisively to speeding up procedures for the implementation of this emblematic project.”