The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved financing in the amount of approximately €168 million for the second electrical interconnector between Malta and Italy.
The IC2 interconnector will consist of a new ~122-kilometer-long 225 MW HVAC electrical cable interconnection between the Terna substation at Ragusa, Sicily, and the Enemalta terminal station in Maghtab, to be laid in parallel to the existing HVAC cable link which was commissioned in 2015.
The overall interconnector cable link will be composed of a land cable in Sicily approximately 21 kilometers long, a three-core submarine cable approximately 99 kilometers long, and a 2-kilometer land cable in Malta.
EIB, according to which the estimated cost for the interconnector is €297 million, approved the €168 million financing on July 8.
Nexans will deliver high-voltage subsea cables for the interconnector that will be produced at its facility in Charleston, U.S.
To remind, IC2 obtained its final approval in January after securing the permit from the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security (MASE).
This second Malta-Sicily cable link is part of the Maltese Government’s future energy strategy for meeting the 2030 climate and energy targets and the longer-term decarbonization objectives.
The project, co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund 2021-2027, is expected to be commissioned in 2026.