Cyprus to pay interconnector dues once Greece issues survey notice

Economy energyfranceGreat Sea InterconnectorGreeceTop News Cyprus to pay interconnector dues once Greece issues survey notice Gsi Thalassa Relevant News Holguin leaves Turkey out of the picture, Nicosia pushes back 10 August 2026 Cyprus to pay interconnector dues once Greece issues survey notice 10 August 2026 Netanyahu says Israel won’t pull out of Gaza before Hamas disarms 9 August 2026 Chrysanthos Manoli 10 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s position on funding the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) has not changed despite Meridiam’s acquisition of a majority stake in the project, with Nicosia still planning to make payments only once Greece issues a navtex clearing the way for seabed surveys, according to information reaching Phileleftheros. Greece’s power grid operator ADMIE and French investment firm Meridiam signed an agreement last Wednesday for Meridiam to acquire two-thirds of the share capital of the Great Sea Interconnector company, the entity behind the planned electricity link between Greece and Cyprus. The deal has strengthened confidence in both Athens and Nicosia that the interconnector can move forward. The Cyprus government welcomed the development in a statement from the minister responsible, describing it as a major boost and reaffirming that the interconnector remains a strategically important project for Cyprus. Attention has now turned to Nicosia’s next moves on two fronts: whether it will pay the sums ADMIE had been claiming, which the French company would then pursue on GSI’s behalf, and whether it will take an equity stake in GSI and shoulder part of the construction cost in exchange for a share of future profits. According to Phileleftheros’s information, Cyprus intends to pay what it owes under the framework agreement signed by the two governments once Greece issues the navtex authorising maritime surveys to map the seabed along the cable’s route, allowing the project’s final cost to be calculated more reliably. No decision on whether Cyprus will buy into GSI’s share capital will be made until a study requested by the two governments and ADMIE, to be carried out under the responsibility of the European Investment Bank (EIB), is complete. That study will update the costs involved and assess technical challenges including the considerable depth, and depth variation, of parts of the seabed between Crete and Cyprus. Navtex, Turkey and the French companies Neither the Greek government, GSI nor ADMIE has taken an official position on when the navtex needed to reserve maritime space for depth surveys and other research will be issued. Alongside last Wednesday’s deal transferring 66% of GSI’s shares to Meridiam, a separate agreement was signed between Meridiam, ADMIE and French cable manufacturer Nexans to speed up the maritime surveys and finish building the cable. None of the parties involved has made anything official public. Greek media have reported that the surveys will begin in the autumn, though this is based on journalistic sources and estimates rather than official confirmation. The Cyprus government appears to have received information or assurances that the depth surveys will start soon, carried out jointly by GSI, now led by Meridiam, and Nexans. Whether responsibility for the surveys passing to two French private companies could shift Turkey’s stance in the area southeast of Kasos, which Ankara regards as part of its continental shelf rather than Greece’s exclusive economic zone, remains an open question. Observers have pointed out that since management of the survey vessel’s work will fall to Meridiam and Nexans rather than ADMIE, a company majority-owned by the Greek state, the chances of reaching an understanding with the Turkish side may be higher, without significant political cost to Greece. Cyprus has previously told Greece that its commitment to pay ADMIE 25 million euros a year, over the five years construction is expected to take, is directly tied to navtex issuance allowing the works to proceed. Although Greece does not accept that the annual payment depends on the navtex, Cyprus’s Finance Ministry has not begun making payments, and pressure from Athens has eased significantly. The latest information from a competent authority indicates the condition still stands: once the navtex for the depth surveys is issued, Cyprus will begin payments totalling 125 million euros by the time the interconnector becomes operational, regardless of whether the EIB study is complete by then. The payment of the agreed amounts is not linked either to the project’s final cost as calculated by the EIB or to any unresolved questions in the study about the project’s benefit to Cypriot electricity consumers or its effect on the final price per kilowatt-hour. The financial dispute The disagreements between the Cypriot side, the government and the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA), and ADMIE go beyond the 125 million euros due within five years. ADMIE is seeking recognition from CERA of a far larger sum for expenses it says it has already incurred, and it is not entirely clear whether, aside from the 125 million euros, it still agrees to be paid the remainder only after the interconnector begins operating. Whether Meridiam will alter ADMIE’s stance towards CERA on the disputed amounts, either during construction or after the project is completed, is not yet clear. The government’s position, shared by CERA, remains that no amount beyond the agreed 125 million euros will be paid before the interconnector is operational. Under the framework agreement signed two years ago by the then energy ministers of Greece and Cyprus, Papanastasiou and Skylakakis, Cyprus already owes two instalments of 25 million euros each, with a third instalment due to be calculated next January. The EIB study Energy Minister Michalis Damianos said in recent days that Cyprus will wait for the EIB study before deciding whether to invest in the project, and estimated the study would be ready towards the end of 2026. However, there has been no update from the EIB on whether the study is under way or still at the stage of being assigned to internal or external consultants. GSI’s side, Meridiam and ADMIE, appears to regard the study as unnecessary, arguing that a strong investment group’s decision to buy into GSI’s share capital already confirms the project’s viability as a business investment. The Cyprus government maintains that the study is needed, arguing that only through it will the real construction cost, operating cost, completion timeline and the roughly 30-year cost or benefit for Cypriot electricity consumers become clear. 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