Albania and Italy will perform a feasibility study for constructing an underwater electricity interconnection between the two countries, Albanian energy minister Belinda Balluku said last week.
Albanian power transmission operator OST, its Italian counterpart and investors who are willing to invest in this power line have established a working group to do a feasibility study, which will open the way towards an agreement with tangible financial, commercial and technical terms, Balluku said.
She announced a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a 400-kV power line that would connect the city of Elbasan in Albania to Macedonian city of Bitola. The project is part of the European Commission’s initiative to establish an East-West electricity transmission corridor between Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Italy.
An underwater power line connecting Albania to Italy has been in the plans of the two countries’ governments for years now. Still, development has been delayed due to the complexity of the project and the high costs associated with it, Balluku added.
