The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a €45 million loan to Tunisia’s Société tunisienne de l’électricité et du gaz (STEG) for a submarine power cable linking Tunisia and Italy.
STEG will combine the loan with a €307.6 million grant from the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility, and financing from the European Investment Bank, the World Bank and KfW to develop the 200-km 600 MW high voltage direct current transmission network.
The project – which marks the first energy bridge between Italy and Tunisia – is expected to help ensure the stability of North Africa and Europe’s grid networks by facilitating increased integration of renewable energy and energy trading between the two blocs.