EIB extends EUR 45m in debt for Italy-Tunisia interconnector

Italian power grid operator Terna and its Tunisian counterpart STEG have signed a EUR-45-million (USD 49.3m) funding deal with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a 600-MW interconnection project between Italy and Tunisia.

The scheme envisages the construction of an undersea interconnector that will serve as a power bridge between Europe and North Africa. The EIB recently said that its support complements a EUR-307.6-million grant funding package extended by the European Commission (EC) last summer.

The ELMED interconnector will consist of about 224 km (139.2mi) of electricity cables running between the converter substations in Partanna, across the Strait of Sicily, and Mlaabi on the Tunisian peninsula of Cape Bon at a depth of up to 800 m. About 200 km of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link's route is undersea.

The total investment required to realise the project is estimated at EUR 921 million.

The ELMED initiative will facilitate the integration of electricity markets, enhance energy procurement security and foster investments in renewables in both Italy and North Africa.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.095)

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