Contract notice issued for EUR 1.68 bln EuroAsia cable

EuroAsia Interconnector, project promoter of the EU-PCI 3.10 electricity project linking Israel, Cyprus and Greece, has issued a contract notice on the Official Journal of the Union for the tender process of the HVDC cable system worth EUR 1.68 bln.

The contract notice, inviting “all interested economic operators to submit a request to participate in a “Negotiated Procedure with Prior Call for Competition” for the award of the works contract ‘Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation of the HVDC Cable System for the EuroAsia Interconnector’,” has been divided into four lots: Pole 1 of Link 1 – Israel-Cyprus (estimated at EUR 224 mln), Pole 2 of Link 1 – Israel-Cyprus (EUR 224 mln), Pole 1 of Link 2 – Cyprus-Crete (EUR 617 mln), and Pole 2 of Link 2 – CyprusCrete (EUR 617 mln). The deadline for the submission of Requests to Participate is at noon on December 27.

EuroAsia Interconnector is a leading EU project of common interest (PCI), also labelled as an “electricity highway” by the European Commission, connecting the national grids of Israel, Cyprus and Greece and creating a reliable energy bridge between the continents of Asia and Europe allowing bi-directional transmission of electricity.

EuroAsia Interconnector is designated as cluster PCI 3.10 consisting of PCI 3.10.1 – interconnection between Israel and Cyprus, and PCI 3.10.2 – interconnection between Cyprus and Crete, Greece, with both sectors ready for commissioning in December 2023.

The project has already been co-financed by the EU in the form of grants, in two separate occasions, through the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ for the execution of preliminary and final pre-works studies. An application to the EU for the co-financing of the construction of the project from the CEF fund worth EUR 8.7 bln will also be submitted.

EuroAsia Interconnector is a multi-terminal VSC-HVDC scheme comprising three converter stations with sea electrodes, interconnected by cables.

Stage 1 of the project will allow the transfer of 1,000MW between converter stations and the voltage level will be ±500kV. Earlier in November, the company said that it had secured the relevant planning permit from the Planning and Housing Bureau of Cyprus, paving the way for the construction to begin of the converter station in Kofinou.

The planning permit pertains to the construction of the high voltage direct current (HVDC) converter station with a capacity of 2,000 MW, as well as the landing points of the subsea cable that connects the electricity networks of Cyprus and Israel with Greece and the EU.

In June, the 33-year land lease agreement was signed at the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry in Nicosia, for the construction of the HVDC converter station in Kofinou, with the project promoter having the option to renew the lease for two more periods of 33 years each, with the necessary environmental, technical and other studies already completed.