EuroAsia Interconnector Limited, the project promoter of the Israel-Cyprus-Greece electric cable, is selecting the manufacturers for the construction of Stage 1 of the multi-terminal VSC-HVDC scheme.
The company has issued tender documents for three cable links and one for converter stations in each country.
An announcement issued by the project promoter said: “The project has attracted the interest of the world’s leading converter station constructors and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cable manufacturers.”
“In order to accelerate the procurement process, we have decided to submit the tender documents to all successful converter and cable manufacturers for an initial round of consultation prior the official submission of the final Invitation to Tender (ITT).”
The EuroAsia Interconnector, probably the biggest cross-border infrastructure project in the eastern Mediterranean, with a price tag of €3.5 bln, is a leading European Project of Common Interest (PCI 3.10), also labelled as an “electricity highway” by the European Commission.
The expected dates of operation of the first two sections of the project are June 2022 for PCI 3.10.3-Internal line between Korakia, Crete (GR) and Attica region (GR) and December 2023 for PCI 3.10.2 – Interconnection between Kofinou (CY) and Korakia, Crete (GR).
The EuroAsia Interconnector announcement said: “The electricity link provides substantial social and economic benefits to the citizens of the involved countries, ends the energy isolation of Cyprus (the last isolated EU member state) and Greece’s largest island – Crete, and ensures the security of supply, while creating an alternative electricity corridor connecting the East Mediterranean to Europe.”
In Stage 1 of the project, the HVDC Interconnector is designed for a transmission capacity of 1,000 MW, and upon full deployment the transmission capacity will be 2,000 MW.
The construction of the EuroAsia Interconnector will be developed under four tender procedures which are currently in progress.
“We have successfully concluded a series of individual meetings with all successful converter and cable manufacturers that took place in our headquarters in Cyprus.
The meetings had the purpose to inform the selected candidates regarding the status of the project, the tender process that will be followed and to exchange ideas about the technical aspects and challenges of the project,” EuroAsia said.
“In order to accelerate the procurement process, we have decided to submit the tender documents to all successful converter and cable manufacturers for an initial round of consultation prior the official submission of the Invitation to Tender (ITT).”
