*This article was published on the website www.cyprusenergy.news
Two weeks after Meridiam joined the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), international media interest has not waned at all. On the contrary, in just a few days, several notable news stories have emerged surrounding the project, ranging from the Cypriot Energy Minister’s interview with the Associated Press to U.S. congressional pressure regarding IMEC and the first reports of an impending NAVTEX. The result is a picture far more complex than the initial announcement on August 5 suggested.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Meridiam is changing the picture, but not all outstanding issues
The agreement was signed on August 5 in Athens, in the presence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, between ADMIE Chairman and CEO Manos Manousakis and Meridiam CEO Thierry Déau. The French company acquires a 66% stake in the implementing entity GSI, while ADMIE retains a 34% stake, remaining the technical lead and future operator of the interconnection. On the same day, a second, trilateral agreement was signed between ADMIE, GSI, and Nexans to accelerate the bathymetric surveys that have been pending for two years.
| -Meridiam is taking a 66% stake in the SPV, bringing capital and experience from projects such as the NeuConnect subsea cable between the United Kingdom and Germany. |
| -ADMIE, GSI, and Nexans signed a parallel agreement to accelerate the bathymetric surveys that have been pending since 2024. |
| -French involvement adds political weight in the face of Turkish objections, without, however, altering the legal facts of the dispute. |
For international energy investors, the move strengthens the project’s capital base and credibility. However, it is not presented anywhere as a solution to the issues of cost, financing, and geopolitics that have plagued GSI since its inception.
Reuters and Euronews Focus on Who Pays
Reuters had already pointed out in May that a potential cost increase beyond the initial 1.9 billion euros could force Cyprus to seek additional investors. An in-depth analysis by Euronews, published today, August 19, revisits the same question in greater detail. According to the report, under the current agreement, Cyprus will bear 63% of the cost (approximately 786 million euros) and Greece the remaining 37% (approximately 460 million euros), while both countries have already asked the European Investment Bank since April to reassess the project’s viability and cost. An EIB spokesperson told Euronews that discussions on the matter are ongoing and that no decision has yet been made on whether to consider the funding request.
The same analysis also adds a geopolitical perspective, through statements by Klaus Dodds, a professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, who notes that the GSI, if completed, would not merely be a power transmission line but also evidence of close convergence between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel—a development that Ankara views with suspicion.
The Associated Press focuses on the cost and IMEC
In an interview with the Associated Press on August 7, Cypriot Energy Minister Michalis Damianos welcomed Meridiam’s involvement, but he also spoke openly about the project’s actual cost, which he described as bogged down in bureaucracy and exceeding the initial estimate of $2.2 billion. The agency notes that an EIB report is expected in the coming months and that, under the current agreement, Cypriot consumers could be burdened with up to 63% of the construction costs, which would mean a significant increase in electricity bills. For this reason, as the minister noted, the Cypriot government is seeking additional private investors, while further EU funding is also being considered. In the same report, Damianos explicitly linked the project to IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor supported by Washington.
What Remains to Be Determined
| 1. An EIB report is expected in the coming months: It will determine the final cost of the project and whether additional investors are needed. |
| 2. NAVTEX for the surveys is pending: Greece is expected to issue it as soon as Meridiam and Nexans finalize who will conduct the remaining 40% of the bathymetric surveys. |
| 3. Cyprus’s equity participation following the study: The Cypriot government is awaiting ADMIE’s cost-benefit analysis before deciding whether to become a shareholder itself. |
| 4. No final investment decision has been made by Cyprus and Israel: Regulatory procedures are moving forward, but financing for this phase has not yet been finalized. |
The Turkish perspective remains at sea
Hürriyet Daily News reported on Meridiam’s entry as a French group participating in a disputed Eastern Mediterranean cable project, recalling Ankara’s position that part of the route lies within the continental shelf claimed by Turkey and that surveys and cable-laying operations in these areas require priorcoordination with the Turkish authorities. An opinion piece in Daily Sabah went a step further, citing legal arguments regarding the continental shelf and adding a new dimension: that HVDC cables are often accompanied by fiber-optic cables which, in certain technical configurations, could also function as a means of undersea surveillance, giving the project a military dimension beyond the energy one.
Meridiam’s entry does not appear, at least for now, to have altered this public stance. On the contrary, a new issue has arisen in recent hours, as reports indicate a Turkish request to issue its own NAVTEX alongside the Greek one, prior to the resumption of bathymetric surveys. According to a report in the Cyprus Mail, Presidents Christodoulides, Macron, and Prime Minister Mitsotakis have discussed the issue in recent days and agreed that the Greek NAVTEX must be issued as soon as possible, as soon as Meridiam and Nexans finalize which companies will undertake the surveys and according to what timeline. ADMIE has stated that approximately 60% of the surveys have been completed, with the remaining 40%, between Karpathos and Cyprus, still pending following the 2024 incident, when Turkish warships harassed the research vessel Ievoli Relume.
Enerdata foresees a stronger project but with a delayed timeline
The specialized energy agency Enerdata took a more technical stance, detailing the project’s key technical specifications (1,208-kilometer cable, 525 kV voltage, initial capacity of 1 GW with the potential to expand to 2 GW) and noting that completion of the interconnection is now projected to extend beyond the initial target of late 2029 to early 2030. According to the analysis, Meridiam is not viewed as a panacea but as a catalyst to get a project that has already been significantly delayed back on track.
U.S. Pressure Through IMEC
Alongside economic and geopolitical factors, a third narrative has emerged in recent weeks: that of U.S. involvement. On August 11, Congressmen Brad Schneider and Gus Bilirakis sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ben Black, head of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), asking that priority be given to the GSI as a key infrastructure project in the Eastern Mediterranean for the IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe corridor. On August 18, GreekReporter reported a statement by a U.S. State Department spokesperson, via APE-MPE, that Washington supports energy security and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, including through the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center, a statement that several media outlets interpreted as indirect support for the GSI, even though the project was not explicitly named. At the same time, the Cyprus-Israel segment appears to be increasingly integrated into the IMEC framework, as the two sides seek to formally link it to the corridor, while the Greek Cypriot leg remains stalled due to Turkish opposition.
A technical caveat behind the enthusiasm
Not all the coverage is celebratory. On August 16, the Cyprus Mail cited the reservations of Cypriot energy expert Hadjistassou, who called for a more realistic approach beyond the excitement surrounding Meridiam. In his assessment, the exact route of the cable has not yet been finalized, the technology for laying cables at depths of up to 3,000 meters is not yet fully mature, and it remains unknown whether there will be cost overruns and who will ultimately bear them. He added that there are still very few ships worldwide capable of laying cable at such depths, with Jan De Nul having commissioned its second such vessel just last April.
The international picture: neither a triumph nor a dead end
If one were to attempt to summarize three weeks of international coverage, the picture that emerges is fairly balanced. GSI appears stronger today than it did before August, with a new major investor, increased U.S. attention through IMEC, and clearer European support. At the same time, none of the international media outlets consider the key issues to have been resolved. The final cost, the EIB report, the NAVTEX, Turkey’s stance, and the technical maturity of the technology remain unresolved issues
The Bottom Line
Meridiam has made GSI more credible. The project must now prove, nautical kilometer by nautical kilometer, that it can indeed be built.
