What Meridiam’s Great Sea Interconnector takeover means for the Cyprus link

Economy electricityenergyfranceGreat Sea InterconnectorGreeceTop News What Meridiam’s Great Sea Interconnector takeover means for the Cyprus link What Meridiam's Surprise Great Sea Interconnector Takeover Means For The Cyprus Link Relevant News What Meridiam’s Great Sea Interconnector takeover means for the Cyprus link 6 August 2026 Dog loose on Kokkinotrimithia-Nicosia motorway near Pournara 6 August 2026 Student attacked and robbed in Old Nicosia 6 August 2026 Chrysanthos Manoli 6 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber On September 27, 2025, it was announced that CERA had made two significant decisions, granting an ownership licence and a management licence for the electricity interconnection to Great Sea Interconnector (GSI). At the time, IPTO owned 100% of GSI. Since yesterday, following a surprise agreement signed between IPTO and French investment firm Meridiam in the presence of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the majority of GSI’s shares (66%, according to some reports) belong to the French investors. This most likely means the Greece-EU grid interconnection project is now, in effect, a French undertaking. However, as of late last night, the Cypriot government was unable to comment, citing insufficient briefing from the Greek government and IPTO. Today, the development is expected to be discussed at the Council of Ministers meeting, between President Christodoulides and Energy Minister Michalis Damianos, with an official position likely to follow. Bathymetric surveys and Navtex Some government sources said last night that what remains outstanding for the Cypriot side is the issuing of a Navtex notice by the Greek government to allow bathymetric surveys in the sea area where the cable will be laid. Once the Navtex is issued, sources said, it clears the way for the Republic of Cyprus to pay two instalments of €25 million each to IPTO, as provided for under the intergovernmental agreement. Yesterday, the Greek government officially confirmed that IPTO, Meridiam and Nexans had also signed an agreement covering the bathymetric surveys. For the surveys to proceed, Greece must issue the Navtex notice, meaning this remains one of the most critical points for what happens next, as it was before. It also remains unclear, and neither Greek nor French sources made any reference to this yesterday, what significance the parties involved now attach to the study that the Cyprus and Greek governments and IPTO had requested from the EIB, updating the technical and financial data for the cable. Does that study still carry the same weight? What would a negative EIB study mean for Meridiam, and by extension for a fresh refusal to grant GSI a loan worth hundreds of millions? The President knew Yesterday’s development caught almost everyone in Cyprus off guard, with the possible exception of the President of the Republic, who had most likely been briefed on the outcome of the IPTO-Meridiam negotiations. Christodoulides had told journalist Elli Kotziamani last Monday, during an interview on ANT1, that a development on the cable would come within the week. That development arrived yesterday, with the signing of the agreement for the French company’s acquisition of a majority stake in GSI. Sources in Greece said last night that IPTO, which until yesterday was the project’s implementing body, is now becoming its chief technical officer. If that is indeed the case, it would mean IPTO takes on a technical-director role for construction, with decisions now resting with the implementing body and owner, which, following yesterday’s developments, is Meridiam. CERA’s reaction to these dramatic developments is of considerable interest. Was it briefed on the agreement? Will it be asked to manage it after the fact? Is its approval required for the French company to take control of the project, or is this a matter that concerns only IPTO and Meridiam alone? There is also the question of whether, in acquiring the majority stake in GSI, Meridiam accepts and recognises all existing regulatory decisions and prior commitments made by IPTO, including delivering the project by 2029 at a cost of €1.9 billion, or whether it will seek changes, as IPTO itself did when it took over as implementing body from EuroAsia Interconnector. There is a further question of whether the contract and timelines binding IPTO and French company Nexans, which will build and lay the cable, also bind Meridiam, even though parts of those agreements have already been breached by IPTO. One more issue arises: Meridiam has been announced as having acquired a majority stake in GSI. Leaks in Greece put the figure at 66% of the company, without disclosing the amount paid. The remaining 34% stays with IPTO. What happens if the Republic of Cyprus decides it wants to acquire shares in the company that will build a project of strategic importance to itself? Who would sell shares, and how much? Meridiam or IPTO? Who would hold the majority? And what happens if other investors show interest? What role would today’s key players retain? What happened at Maximos At yesterday’s signing ceremony at the Maximos Mansion, Thierry Déau, Meridiam’s chairman and chief executive, said the electricity interconnection carries major strategic significance for Europe, coming on the back of the strategic partnership signed between Greece and France. He added that French President Emmanuel Macron strongly supports the project and, as Déau put it, “calls me every day about it.” The agreement bringing Meridiam in as majority shareholder of GSI is a particularly significant development for the Greece-Cyprus interconnection, with the French backing strengthening the conditions and credibility needed to accelerate the project’s implementation. As previously stated, IPTO remains a strategic shareholder and key partner with statutory minority rights, retains technical leadership of the project, and will be responsible for operating the interconnection once complete. Meridiam’s majority stake strengthens the project’s capital base, adds technical expertise and boosts its implementation capacity. Meridiam’s profile Meridiam is a leading international investor, developer and manager of infrastructure projects, headquartered in Paris with a strong presence in Europe, the United States and Africa. It specialises in strategically important public infrastructure projects, which it develops, finances, builds and manages over the long term in close cooperation with governments, regulators and public bodies. Its portfolio includes more than 130 projects under development, construction or in operation across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa, representing roughly €100 billion in total mobilised investment. Meridiam’s funding comes from long-term institutional investors, including European and international pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds and public development banks. The European Investment Bank has held a stake in Meridiam since 2015 and finances its projects, alongside the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and other public financial institutions. Meridiam’s projects include NeuConnect, a 1.4GW, 725km undersea high-voltage direct current interconnection between the UK and Germany worth €2.8 billion, currently under construction; the 302km Sud Europe Atlantique high-speed rail line in France, a €7.7 billion project running to 2061; a 30-year concession for desalination and water transport from Aqaba to Amman in Jordan, worth around $6 billion; the 2022 acquisition of global water and waste group Suez, in which Meridiam remains a key shareholder; a 35-year concession for Sofia Airport in Bulgaria, with committed investment of at least €624 million; the 19.5km, 38-stop Florence tram network, serving more than 34 million passengers a year; and the research centre of the University of Montreal Hospital Centre in Canada, developed through a long-term partnership with the Quebec government. 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