EIB's Kakouris: No new financing request for Great Sea Interconnector

The European Investment Bank's (EIB) reply to the financing of the Cyprus-Greece-Israel Great Sea Interconnector project was a negative one, and no new financing request for the project has been submitted by the Republic of Cyprus since, said EIB Vice-President Kyriacos Kakouris.

"The Bank's position is well known. The Bank has given its position to both the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Finance a few months ago. The evaluation done on the project then was a negative one", he said in response to a question on the issue at a press conference at the Ministry of Finance for the presentation of the Bank's 2023 results.

It is noted that, as stated by Energy Minister George Papanastasiou, the Government intends to participate in the project with €100 million, but a due diligence report is pending, while a positive evaluation by a foreign consultancy firm had previously been carried out, as reported by CNA.

"But for us, as a Bank, to re-examine this project, we have to receive a request from the Republic of Cyprus and currently we have not received such a request", Kakouris said.

Commenting on a remark by the President of CCCI, Stavros Stavrou, that there is no funding towards EAC and its network, which he described as a "big issue", regarding the absorption of renewable energy sources (RES), Kakouris said that there was no request from EAC to the EIB.

Kakouris agreed with Stavrou's remarks, saying that "we are very late in updating the network so that it can absorb renewable sources". He noted that he will meet on Friday afternoon with the new board of directors of EAC.

Minister of Finance: the energy market must be modernised

Minister of Finance, Makis Keravnos, described the issue of the cost of electricity, as a big problem, an issue that "affects all sectors vertically and horizontally", as he said. He noted that due to distortions in the system, fossil fuel prices are falling, while "we continue to have high prices."

He also noted that the issue under government scrutiny, and "it will be modernized, because it has to be modernized, because we have to bring cheap energy to our economy", he concluded.

For her part, Pilar Solano, EIB Director for Central and South-Eastern Europe, said that supporting the modernization of the electricity network is a priority for the EIB, both in terms of transmission and distribution network.

"We cannot have a successful green transition, including the capacity to generate RES, until we have a sustainable and appropriate upgrading of the grid. This is an area where the EIB has a lot of expertise" she said.

(Source: CNA)