February 21 (SeeNews) - Italian electricity transmission system operator Terna said it has completed the laying of the undersea section of the power transmission cable linking Montenegro to Italy.
The laying of the cable included works at a depth of 1,200 m below sea surface, Montenegrin public broadcaster Radio Televizija Crne Gore (RTCG) quoted sources from the company as saying on Sunday.
"For Montenegro this means a safe connection, as it will have the most modern power grid and the country will have a significant income from the use of the cable," economy minister Dragica Sekulic told RTCG on Monday.
The 433 km undersea section of the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link runs from Montenegro's Rta Jaz to Italy's Pescara. The onshore section involves the construction of a substation in Lastva, as well as a Lastva-Cevo-Pljevlja 400 kV overhead line by Montenegro's majority state-owned power transmission system operator Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem [MNG:PREN].
The entire project, with a value of 800 million euro ($842.8 million), is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
The connection features two 500 kV HVDC cables in a bipolar configuration and the laying works were carried out by the Skagerrak ship of Norwegian energy transmission company Nexans.
The European Commission, together with Germany's development bank KfW and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), provided 3.5 million euro financial assistance for project identification and preparation of the Montenegro section, under the Western Balkans Investment Framework. The European Union further supported the financing of the works under the 2015 Connectivity Agenda, through a 25 million euro grant.
The undersea connection between Italy and Montenegro represents a link of the 400 kV Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor, connecting Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro to the European Union grid.
($ = 0.949218 euro)