Project to link Greece's mainland with Aegean islands gets EIB funding

Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator IPTO has clinched a debt financing deal with the European Investment Bank (EIB) backing a project to build a power connector between mainland Greece and outlying islands in the Aegean Sea.

The Greek company will receive EUR 108 million (USD 117.2m) mobilised through Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. The financing will be disbursed under a long-term agreement, IPTO said on Friday.

The project envisages the construction of a new electricity link consisting of five underground and submarine cables with a total length of 350 km (217.5 miles). The cable network will link the Greek mainland with the Cyclades group of islands.

Specifically, the agreement with the EIB covers the fourth stage of the scheme that aims to connect the last islands in the archipelago remaining cut off the mainland grid – Santorini, Folegandros, Milos and Serifos. All works are planned to be completed by 2025.

The total cost of the Cyclades project, which will enable the use of cleaner energy on the islands and speed up the penetration of renewables, is estimated at EUR 524 million. The EIB in December 2022 backed it with a EUR-157-million loan from its own resources.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.085)

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