Over 200 km Albania-Italy power line - Project details/Part of Corridor VIII, initially envisaged with a capacity of 500 – 1000 MW
The Albania-Italy underwater power transmission line is part of Corridor 8, which connects Europe with Bulgaria, passing through Albania and North Macedonia. As with road and rail projects, the power transmission lines follow the same route, starting from Bari and Brindisi in Italy, continuing to Vlora and Durrës, towards Elbasan, Qafë Thana where the connection with North Macedonia is made, and ending in Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria.
The first concrete developments for the construction of the Italy-Albania underwater energy segment were marked on May 24, 2007, when a joint declaration was signed in Bari by the economy ministers of the two countries for an integrated Italian-Albanian cooperation project in the electricity sector.
Meanwhile, in 2008, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development announced the details of the project at that time, which included the construction of an underwater line with a capacity of 500 - 1000 MW, with a length of over 200 km from Foggia to Durrës. The estimated investment at that time was over 300 million euros, but the project was not realized although it was considered innovative for electrical connection through market means.
After many years of silence, the construction of the submarine cable returned to attention in 2023, when, through a meeting held by the Albanian OST with the head of the Italian Transmission System Operator (TERNA), a common opinion was shared on starting work on drafting the technical and economic feasibility project.
Also, in December 2023, it was announced that an agreement had been reached with the Italian government and the United Arab Emirates, which had decided to be part of the project, for the construction of this energy line. Also, in August 2024, a meeting was held between representatives of the transmission operators of the two countries.
Also present at the meeting was the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku, who at the time considered the interconnection lines to be extremely important, not only in terms of energy, but also in geopolitical relations, especially for dynamic regions like the Balkans.
Currently, the Albanian transmission system is connected to the neighboring systems of Kosovo, Montenegro and Greece, with 6 cross-border exchange interconnection lines, while the connection with North Macedonia is also in process.
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