The French giant’s billions in investments in Turkey, which may hold the key to GSI
Meridiam is a French investment giant, and its 66% stake in GSI largely explains Paris’s active involvement in the project’s implementation. The company’s investments span 58 countries, including Turkey.
Combined with its French interests, Meridiam’s involvement may be the “key” to overcoming the impasse that continues to surround the power interconnection project. It is by no means a coincidence that the ship preparing to resume the bathymetric surveys from the point where they were interrupted in 2024 flies the French flag.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Following Meridiam’s entry into the project, diplomacy now appears to have taken center stage. Greece is preparing to issue a NAVTEX within the month, while Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirms the importance of the French factor.
Billions with an Eye on the White House
In December 2014, a signing ceremony was held for contracts totaling €433 million for the construction of a new hospital in Adana, as part of a partnership between the Turkish construction giant Rönesans and Meridiam. In October of the same year, the new Turkish Presidential Palace in Ankara was inaugurated, at a time when the joint venture with the French company was already underway. It is worth noting that this company emerged as one of Turkey’s most powerful construction groups during the Erdoğan administration, from 2002 onward.
The significance of Meridiam’s partnership with Turkey’s “national contractor” is also reflected in its expansion—beyond the hospital in Adana—to four additional hospitals in Bursa, Gaziantep, Yozgat, and Elazığ. The total value of French investments under the Erdogan government’s Public–Private Partnership (PPP) program exceeds €2.3 billion. Indicative of the scope of this cooperation is the 28-year contract signed by the Meridiam–Rönesans consortium with the Turkish Ministry of Health.
Starting in July 2026, the French company’s involvement in infrastructure projects in Turkey is set to enter a new phase. According to a Bloomberg report, the conglomerate is considering forming a joint venture with another construction group, Makyol. The goal of the potential partnership is to acquire the operating rights for the Sultan Mehmet and July 15 Martyrs bridges in Istanbul, as well as sections of the Turkish highway network. The relevant report was published on July 29, just a few days before Meridiam announced its acquisition of a 66% stake in GSI.
A connecting link or “hot air”?
As of today, Athens is signaling that it is only a matter of days before a NAVTEX is issued for a French-owned vessel to conduct bathymetric surveys off Kasos. The joint communiqué being prepared in collaboration with Paris to inform Turkey also falls within this context. However, no one can say with certainty whether Meridiam is utilizing its communication channels with Erdogan’s White Palace to contribute to the ongoing behind-the-scenes contacts.
In an interview he gave on Friday to SKAI, Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis did not rule out such a possibility when asked about it, noting that he did not wish to delve into “operational details”. Whether these efforts will bear fruit is, of course, a different matter.
Moreover, during his significant visit to Athens last Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio avoided mentioning Turkey by name, limiting himself to more general references to “sensitive” and “delicate” situations. As he characteristically noted, “there are countries involved in some of the issues that complicate the situation.” He added, in fact, that “issues of this kind—so sensitive and so critical—are probably best addressed through private diplomacy, outside the context of press conferences.”
Despite his categorical statement to *Kathimerini* that a “Greek-Turkish conflict would be unthinkable” and his references to behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts, Rubin did not appear certain that a crisis could be averted in the event of further escalation. “I hope we can find solutions,” was his characteristic remark, suggesting that nothing can be taken for granted.
It should be noted that, should the French vessel’s attempt to complete the bathymetric survey fail, ADMIE’s agreement with Meridiam to acquire a 66% stake in the project cannot be finalized either.
At the same time, uncertainty stems from the precedent set by Nexans, which undertook the construction of the power interconnection cable but failed to help remove the geopolitical obstacles posed by Ankara. It is also a French-owned company, with revenue exceeding €7.8 billion in 2025, and an operational presence in Turkey, just like Meridiam. In fact, Nexans has a subsidiary in Turkey with an annual revenue of over €300 million.
Despite its business presence in the country, Nexans does not appear to have played a role in efforts to overcome the obstacles to moving the project forward. On the contrary, on October 4, it denied reports—which, citing government sources, claimed it was mediating with Ankara. In a statement, the company emphasized that “it categorically denies that it has had or planned to have any contact with the Turkish authorities regarding the upcoming seabed surveys as part of the project.”
It remains to be seen whether the French company Meridiam will follow in Nexans’ footsteps or whether its presence will play, directly or indirectly, a role in the efforts being made to ensure that GSI does not become a catalyst for a “unthinkable”—in Marco Rubio’s words—Greek-Turkish conflict.
