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Italy's electricity transmission system operator Terna and Tunisia's state electricity and gas utility STEG have awarded Hitachi Energy a contract worth approximately 770 million euros ($876 million) to design and build converter stations for the Elmed electricity interconnection between the two countries.
The award completes the procurement process for the first high-voltage direct current (HVDC) submarine electricity link between Europe and North Africa, Hitachi Energy said in a press statement.
The tender, jointly issued by Terna and STEG in 2023, covers the design, supply and construction of converter stations for the project, which forms part of Italy's Mattei Plan for Africa aimed at strengthening economic, energy and geopolitical ties between Europe and African countries.
The converter stations will be built in Partanna, in Italy's Trapani province, and at Mlaabi in Tunisia's Menzel Temime area.
The 600-megawatt (MW) interconnection will extend approximately 220 kilometres (km), most of it via a submarine cable crossing the Strait of Sicily at depths of up to 800 metres.
Hitachi Energy said it will supply the HVDC transmission system, including converter valves, the MACH digital control platform, power transformers and high-voltage switchgear. Its scope also includes system studies, engineering, equipment supply, installation supervision and commissioning.
Civil works and electromechanical installations will be undertaken by Italy's D'Agostino Costruzioni Generali at the Partanna converter station and Egypt’s Orascom Construction at the Mlaabi station.
In September 2025, Italy-headquartered global cable company Prysmian announced the award of a contract to supply and build a subsea power link between Italy and Tunisia as part of the ELMED project.
Elmed is a major infrastructure project for strengthening energy security and integrating electricity systems between Europe and North Africa, in line with the objectives of the European Commission’s Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) and REPowerEU plan.
Out of the electricity link’s total estimated cost of €1.4 billion, €307 million has been allocated by the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) grant programme. On the Tunisian side, the project is supported by the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and KfW.
Hitachi Energy is also implementing a 3,000 MW HVDC interconnection project linking the power grids of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
(Writing by Dennis Daniel; Editing by Anoop Menon)
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