Nexans, the French company manufacturing the power cable that will connect Cyprus to Crete and the European grid, has reassured Cyprus’s energy minister that its €1.4 billion contract will not require significant upward revision.
Two company representatives met with George Papanastasiou and his team in Nicosia on Thursday to detail ongoing operations at Nexans factories in Norway and Japan, alongside upcoming project phases.
The company officials informed Papanastasiou that current financial and operational data do not indicate any substantial increase to the amount initially agreed with EuroAsia Interconnector and subsequently with IPTO.
They also dismissed concerns about significant delays in cable laying, maintaining that the regulatory timeline targeting completion by late 2029 remains achievable.
The meeting dispelled earlier rumours in Nicosia suggesting the company’s visit was meant to announce serious delays in cable construction and installation.
Nexans representatives also briefed officials on seabed surveys being conducted off Crete and Cyprus.
They reported that two vessels are conducting the surveys, one in each maritime region, with no issues encountered in territorial waters. The surveys will soon extend into international waters.
Addressing concerns about the necessity of new seabed measurements following previous surveys by EuroAsia, the French company’s representatives reportedly explained they were merely confirming existing data in certain areas to check for significant seabed changes.
They maintained these new surveys would not affect the project’s cross-border cost allocation.
Papanastasiou told the parliamentary Finance Committee on Friday that a decision about the Republic’s potential stake in Great Sea Interconnector would be made by late November, pending a due diligence study by an American firm expected within 2-3 weeks.
The sector awaits the European Investment Bank’s decision on a potential €500 million loan for the interconnection, which hinges on an independent evaluation of IPTO’s cost-benefit analysis submitted to the Energy Ministry.
Regarding the Prometheus floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), Papanastasiou reported that mainly bureaucratic procedures remain before the vessel can depart for a European port.
ETYFA and its partners are preparing the ship and its documentation for official handover from CPP to the Cypriot company.
He added that tender processes are underway for completing the onshore unit and jetty works at the Vasilikos terminal, noting that while ETYFA’s vessel ownership is significant, “it must be certified as an FSRU rather than remaining at anchor”.
