Athens (AFP) - Greece has allowed the resumption of preliminary survey work to extend an electric cable linking it to Cyprus and then to Israel, according to what the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
Published on: 07/11/2026 - 14:07
The huge project aims to connect the electricity networks in Greece and Cyprus, and then Israel in a second phase, via a high-voltage direct current submarine cable, with a length of about 1,208 kilometers, including 900 kilometers between Crete and Cyprus and 310 kilometers between Cyprus and Israel.
Nexans, a French cable manufacturer, is participating in the project.
At the company’s request, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis issued a “licensing decision for the survey work necessary to extend the electrical interconnection cable,” according to a ministry statement issued on Friday evening.
The statement stated that the license was accompanied by the issuance of a Navtex notice off the Greek island of Crete in the south and Cyprus, to enable the French ship Abeille Marengo to begin surveying work for Nexans.
The ship arrived in late October at the port of Heraklion, the capital of Crete.
The Greek News Agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying, “Abyei Marengo’s work will be carried out according to the schedule set by the company, in Greek and Cypriot waters and areas located within the continental shelf of Greece and Cyprus.”
In the summer of 2023, Nexans won a contract worth 1.43 billion euros to construct the part between Cyprus and Greece of the “Eurasia” electrical interconnection project, which was described as “the largest electrical interconnection project in history.”
Cyprus is the only European country not connected to the gas grid or the electricity grid on the European continent.
The project has been stalled since January due to “discussions at the political level, especially the European one,” according to Nexans.
In 2024, Türkiye, Greece's neighbor, objected to conducting studies to measure water depths in the marine area off the Greek island of Kasos, near its western coast.
© 2026 AFP
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