December 19 (SeeNews) - The Romanian government said it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Georgia, Hungary and Azerbaijan for the implementation of project for a submarine cable for the transmission of energy from renewable sources.
"Romania is committed to investing in energy production and energy infrastructure, and in cooperation with our partners, we will promote energy security for our states and for the region. Consequently, Romania will play an important role as a transit country and regional energy hub, offering alternatives to our neighbors and partners in the EU, but also to Moldova and Ukraine," Romanian prime minister Nicolae Ciuca said in a press release on Saturday.
"Today's agreement marks an important step forward in strengthening our long-term energy cooperation," Ciuca added.
According to Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, the agreement will provide the financial and technical framework for the project. The submarine cable meant to transport electricity from green sources between Romania and Azerbaijan, via Georgia and the Black Sea, and subsequently for the transmission of this energy to Hungary and the rest of Europe.
"The project of the submarine electricity transmission cable across the Black Sea is part of the agreements in the field of energy agreed between the EU, represented by the European Commission, and the Republic of Azerbaijan, at the same time being a flagship project for Georgia as part of the strategy EU Global Gateway," Iohannis said in a statement.
The cable will require an investment of 2.3 billion euro ($2.44 billion) by the EU, according to a project description posted earlier this month on the website of the European Commission's Directorate-General for EU Neighborhood and Enlargement.
The total length of the cable will be 1,195 km and its capacity will amount to 1,000 MW, Georgian transmission system operator GSE said in June. The underwater transmission cable will also be equipped with a digital connection that will provide high quality telecommunication between Romania and Georgia, GSE added.
($=0.9412 euro)