Energy Minister Natasa Pilides late on Wednesday welcomed the approval of €657m in EU funds for the EuroAsia Interconnector as “excellent news for Cyprus”.

The ambitious project would end Cyprus’ energy isolation by linking its national electricity grid with those of Israel and Greece through a 1208km submarine HVDC cable

The EuroAsia Interconnector is a European Project of Common Interest, and the funds were approved under the Connecting Europe Facility.

“The electricity interconnection will end energy isolation and contribute to RES integration and of European Union Internal Market completion,” Pilides wrote on Twitter and thanked EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson for the continued support.