Greece-based Elica Interconnector, which is developing the GREGY electricity interconnection project between Egypt and Greece, is planning to launch international tenders for marine survey and other studies, the company CEO said.

Speaking at an event in Athens on Wednesday, John Karydas said optimal routing, technical analysis and cost-benefit assessment (CBA) studies for the project have been completed.

The project is designed to transfer up to 3,000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy from Egypt to Europe through Greece.

New tenders planned

International tenders for marine survey, environmental study and geotechnical study for the onshore sections of the project are expected to be launched in the immediate future, said Karydas, while speaking at the 'Financial Times and Kathimerini Energy Transition Summit: East Med & South East Europe’ event.

In January 2026, the European Commission, through the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), had approved 9.6 million euros under Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to fund seabed mapping study for GREGY interconnection.

The initial routing, technical and CBA studies were financed by a grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) under the InvestEU Advisory Hub. Afry UK executed the technical and CBA studies while Greece’s Geotech performed the routing study.

Energy security

Karydas, who is also the CEO of the Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Storage Unit at parent company Copelouzos Group, said the project will strengthen the security of Greece’s energy supply and energy diversification in light of the continuous geopolitical turmoil in the wider region.

“In this way, the energy market will not be affected by international natural gas and CO2 prices, neither by global natural gas demand, nor by international geopolitical instability,” he said.

The project is estimated to replace 4.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 10 million tonnes per year.

The European Commission has included GREGY in the list of Projects of Common Interest and Projects of Mutual Interest [PCI/PMI] published in December 2025, the Global Gateway framework, which includes critical infrastructure projects for Europe, and Entso-e's (European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity) TYNDP 2024 (Ten-Year Network Development Programme).

The project has also been included in the recently launched PACT for the Mediterranean Action Plan.

By transmitting clean energy at competitive prices and with a baseload profile, GREGY will contribute decisively to strengthening the Greek Economy, Karydas said.

He cited a McKinsey study, which has estimated cumulative socio-economic benefits to the Greek energy market exceeding €30 billion over 25 years of operation.

Project summary

According to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy, the 500kV HVDC interconnection will extend approximately 954 kilometres (km) between Sidi Barrani in Egypt to Mesogeia / St Stefanos in Greece. The infrastructure includes a ±525 kilovolt (kV) HVDC submarine cable, four converter stations (two in Egypt and two in Greece) and associated transmission lines.

The project’s estimated capital expenditure is approximately €3.57 billion ($4.05 billion). Key future milestones include Final Investment Decision (FID) by May 2028 and target commissioning date of June 2031.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by Dennis Daniel) (anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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