Tunisia signs $337mln grant agreement with European Commission to finance ELMED interconnection project

Tunisia - The Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) and the Italian electricity operator TERNA signed on Tuesday a grant agreement with the European Commission worth 307 million euros to help finance the "ELMED" electrical interconnection project between Tunisia and Italy.

The agreement, which is part of the energy transition, represents a strategic step towards activating a real energy bridge between Europe and North Africa, said STEG CEO Hichem Anan in a company statement on the signing of the agreement.

It is worth noting that the completion of the "ELMED" interconnection project will require an investment of around €850 million, of which €307 million will be provided by the "European Interconnection Facility", a European programme designed to support projects aimed at developing energy infrastructure in the European Union.

This is the first time that the European Interconnection Facility has provided funding for an infrastructure project involving an EU Member State and a third country, the statement said.

Given its importance, the European Commission has allocated more than half of the budget available under the 2022 call for proposals to this project.

The World Bank has agreed to provide Tunisia with USD 268.4 million for the "ELMED" project, part of which will be used for the construction of an electrical switching station from Tunisia (included in the scope of the project financed by the European Interconnection Facility) and for the reinforcement of the Tunisian electricity network necessary for the operation of the electrical interconnection.

In addition to the funds provided by the European Interconnection Facility and the World Bank, the project is expected to benefit from financing from the European Investment Bank, the German Bank for Reconstruction and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to the statement.

The Tunisia-Italy electricity interconnection project consists of a 600 MW submarine cable connecting the Tunisian (Menzel Temime, governorate of Nabeul) and Italian (Sicily) electricity grids via a high-voltage converter station, which will cross a 200 km sea route at a depth of up to 800 metres.

© Tap 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).