Cyprus, Greece and Israel on Monday signed an initial agreement to build the world's longest and deepest underwater power cable that will traverse the Mediterranean seabed at a cost of about $900 million and link their electricity grids.
The project, called the Euro-Asia interconnector, will provide a back-up power source in times of emergency, said Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, who was in Nicosia to sign a memorandum of understanding with his counterparts.
The cable will have a capacity of 1,000-2,000 megawatts (MW) and is expected to be completed by 2024, according to Israel's energy ministry.