In the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, an agreement was signed today at Maximos Mansion for the French investment group Meridiam to become the majority shareholder in Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), which, according to the initial plan, will undertake the development of the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnection project; a trilateral agreement was also signed between IPTO, GSI, and Nexans regarding seabed survey work for the project’s implementation.
At the beginning of the meeting, the following statements were made:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Welcome to Athens. Today is, I think, a very important day and one that marks an important step forward for the Great Sea Interconnector. As you know, this is a project of strategic importance for both Greece, Cyprus, but I think also for Europe as a whole. And the entry of Meridiam as a majority shareholder in the Great Sea Interconnector Company -a special purpose vehicle established by IPTO for the implementation of the project- I think it’s a very strong vote of confidence in Greece’s energy sector, in IPTO’s technical capabilities, but also the strategic value of this interconnection project.
But I think the most meaningful message is that we’re joining forces around a European project of common interest. And at the same time, it is also accompanied by the signing of a strategic agreement between IPTO, GSI, and Nexans. And the three parties will work together from day one to accelerate the project’s progress, with the first priority being given to the completion of the seabed surveys.
IPTO brings to this project, I think, a deep technical expertise, deep knowledge of electricity systems, and a proven ability to deliver major energy interconnections, the interconnection between Athens and Crete being one example of a very complex project which was recently completed. And of course, you bring to the table international experience in similar projects and a long-term commitment to strategic infrastructure.
And by combining these complementary strengths, the two partners create a much stronger, a much more credible platform for the construction and successful completion of the project. And this transaction concerns, of course, the dedicated project company responsible for the development of the interconnection.
I would like to point out that IPTO remains a strategic shareholder and is a central partner to this project, while your participation strengthens the capital base, improves the allocation of risks, and enhances the implementation capacity. We’ve been exploring this possibility over the past months, and we’re very, very happy that we’ve been able to strengthen the capital base of the project.
Now, for us, this is, of course, both a strategic project but also a project which is particularly important to the energy structure and stability of the entire grid in our part of the world. It will help to essentially end Cyprus’ energy isolation and connect the country to the entire European electricity system. And of course, it will also facilitate the integration of more renewable energy and overall reinforce Europe’s energy resilience.
I’m very happy that Greece has demonstrated once more that it can attract serious long-term international investors for projects of strategic importance. I think it is of particular value that we’ve been able to attract one of the biggest, if not the biggest European infrastructure investor. And I think this is also the moment we support strong strategic participation, international investment, technical expertise, and a clear allocation of responsibilities and risks.
So let me congratulate all the parties involved on the signing of this transaction, and we’re very much looking forward towards taking all the initiatives in order for the project to proceed as quickly as possible. So again, welcome.
Stavros Papastavrou, Minister of Environment and Energy: I just want to thank the companies, the stakeholders, for their professional engagement. Prime Minister, after President Macron’s visit here, you gave the direction and the guidance. We met with Thierry, and I think the companies managed in record time to have this agreement. And as everybody said, this is the beginning. This is a landmark beginning in order to proceed for the implementation of the project. So thank you.
Thierry Deau, Meridiam’s Chairman and CEO: So thank you, Prime Minister, dear ministers. Very honored to be here today to really sign this partnership. This is for us a very strategic project for Europe, and this is also following the strategic partnership that Greece has signed with France. And I must say that my President is a very big supporter of this project. He calls me every day about it.
And we’re very happy to bring, of course, our strength, our €25 billion fund under management, also our focus on long-term investment in infrastructure. We’ve participated in most of the trans-European networks, whether electricity between the UK and Germany, also transport and others, really responding to sort of long-term policy of basically building equipment for Europe to become more resilient.
So I’m very happy to be here with my colleagues from Nexans as well. And we’re here to actually work and deliver. Thank you.
Pascal Radue, Senior Executive Vice President at Nexans: Thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister and ministers. From Nexans, I also want to say that we are tremendously happy to see this today, this signature, this project, it shows a very important step in the project. There will be steps to come. I think that we have to work all stakeholders together to make sure this project actually happens in reality. But we’re very, very happy because I think it’s a major step forward and very happy to look to be able to add value with our technology to Greece and in wider Europe as part of Team France, really, at the end of the day. Thank you very much.
Manousos Manousakis, Chairman and CEO of Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO): I just want to thank the government for supporting the very difficult effort on this project, and I want to thank Meridiam for the confidence it shows towards IPTO. As our Prime Minister said, this is a European project, and today, with a new shareholder structure, I think that we declare to everybody that this is a European project, this is going to go forward. It was the second most important project, as Ursula von der Leyen said, from the European Commission. We are here to work, work hard, and again deliver good results as in the past, all together.
