Crete connect with Attica through 335 km of electric cable

One of the world’s largest unified electrical cable laying operations is carried out by Independent Power Transmission Operator-IPTO’s subsidiary, Ariadne Interconnection, which is laying a 500 kV direct current ultra-high voltage submarine cable, with a total length of 335 kilometers as part of the Crete-Attica electrical interconnection.

The cable weighing 13,500 tons is laid at a maximum depth of 1,200 meters between Korakia of Heraklion (Crete) and Pachi Megaron (Attica) by the state-of-the-art cable laying ship “Leonardo da Vinci” of the contractor company Prysmian Powerlink. This is an operation of extremely complex technical requirements that was successfully launched in early December and is estimated to last approximately 9 weeks.

After the operation of the first electrical interconnection of Crete with mainland Greece, via the Peloponnese in July 2021, IPTO is proceeding at an intensive pace and according to the schedule and the second interconnection of the island with Attica, the largest electricity transmission project implemented currently in the country with a budget of 1 billion euros and a completion horizon of 2024.

The underwater segment

As far as the underwater part of the project is concerned, the first 170 kilometers of the electric cable from Attica to Milos have already been laid, as well as all the fiber optic cables, 670 km long.

On the Attica side, the installation works of the underground cable sections are in full progress, while the foundations of the main buildings of the Conversion Stations that will be constructed at the two ends of the interconnection, namely Damasta Heraklion and Aspropyrgos Attica, have begun.