Adecisive step for the Greece -Cyprus electricity interconnector (GSI) is imminent, with Athens expected to finalize the long-delayed transfer of ownership and management licenses to the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE).
Speaking to TV channel Action 24 , Greece’s Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou said the official decision could be published “within the next few days, possibly even on Monday,” marking the project’s shift from its previous developer, Euroasia, to ADMIE.
The transfer resolves one of several pending issues discussed during Papastavrou’s meeting this week in Nicosia with Cyprus’s Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Giorgos Papanastasiou. According to the Greek minister, the two sides agreed to settle all outstanding matters in order to present a “united front” for the project’s implementation, which he said will “end Cyprus’s energy isolation.”
Papastavrou acknowledged that disagreements had delayed progress, stressing the need to “leave behind disputes, reservations and mixed signals.” He noted that although ADMIE acquired the project from Euroasia two years ago, the formal transfer of licenses never took place.
“Is it technical issue? A formality? Whatever you call it, ADMIE still doesn’t hold the licenses,” he said. “I believe that in the next 24 hours, maybe Monday, the decision will be published transferring them to ADMIE. This is part of a series of technical, supervisory and financial issues.”
Pressed on tensions with the Cypriot side, the minister declined to comment, underlining instead the new joint approach: “The agreement we made yesterday with Giorgos Papanastasiou, which I will respect, is that since this project is complex, we will make fewer statements, give fewer answers, present fewer reservations, and focus on more work. We will resolve all the issues both sides face so that we can move forward, united, with this very important project that will end Cyprus’s energy isolation.”
Source: tovima.com
