On Alpha Cyprus, Professor Panos Papanastasiou: “Sustainability First, Not Statements About Investors” – New Study on the Electrical Interconnection

The energy expert, Professor Panos Papanastasiou, of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Cyprus, stated that the government must first ensure the sustainability of the electrical interconnection project before making statements about strong investors.

He characteristically remarked: “If the project is not sustainable and beneficial for consumers, then it is better not to find investors.”

Speaking on “Alpha News” programme, Panos Papanastasiou expressed the view that disagreements between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Energy lie behind the decision of the Greek and Cypriot governments to commission a new study on the project.

As he noted, the Ministry of Finance had rightly pointed out that the project was not sustainable, but “now some have realised this and want to update the data.” He added that “we must be certain that the project is sustainable and will not impoverish Cyprus and only then should we talk about investors.”

Professor Papanastasiou noted that the increase in cost will become evident through the study, which can be completed within a short timeframe as the parameters are already known. He explained that information from competent organisations indicates that the cost has doubled over the past four years.

“It is very likely to exceed €3 billion, and if we include the cost of insurance which was not included in previous studies and is 5 - 10% of the project’s value then we are talking about an annual cost of €150 million,” he said.

Finally, Professor Papanastasiou expressed the view that if the study demonstrates a sharp increase in the cost, then the European Union will be required to contribute significantly more financially with the possibility that the grant will need to be increased to €2.5 billion for the project to become sustainable.