The agreement on the disposal of 20% of the shares of his subsidiary and the implementation body of Crete – Attica, Ariadne Interconnectedion, at the State Grid International Development (SGID), was signed by the President and CEO of the Managing Director Manos Manousakis and the Chairman of SGID Yu Jun. The signing of the agreement took place in the presence of the Secretary-General for Energy and Minerals of RIS Aristotle Aivaliotis, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Greece Fang Qiu and the Executive Vice President of the State Grid Corporation of China Jin Wei. The ceremony was also attended by senior directors of IPTO, IPTO and State Grid. In his welcome Mr. Aivaliotis praised the cooperation of the IPTO with State Grid, stressing the importance of electrical interconnections in the country’s energy transformation. “Greece envisions a major energy hub and electrical connections will play a decisive role in this direction. The State welcomes this new partnership with friend China and supports IPTO in its important projects for the country,” he said. From his point of view, Mr. Manousakis stressed that the entry of State Grid International Development into the shareholder composition of Ariadne Interconnectedion is a strong vote of confidence in both IPME and the work of the electric interconnection of Crete – Attica. “ADMIE has proven to be a modern and outgoing European Administrator, with high know-how and ambitious strategy. Our investments are geared towards accelerating the energy transition and promoting Greece at a strong hub of infrastructure, at the crossroads of Europe, Africa and Asia. To achieve this they contribute strategic partnerships, such as the one with the State Grid Corporation of China, the Administrator of the world’s largest electricity transmission system. Building on this relationship, I am sure that State Grid International Development’s investment participation will strengthen Ariadne’s development prospects, the body implementing the largest island interconnection Greece has seen to date,” he said. Regarding the progress of the project, the head of the IPME said that the construction of the electric interconnection of Crete-Attiki will be completed by the end of the year, and then its test electrification will follow, with the aim of putting it into commercial operation in the summer of 2025. The Executive Vice President of the State Grid Corporation of China Mr Jin Wei expressed his satisfaction at the continued and productive cooperation of the two Groups. “The State Grid Corporation of China, the largest utility company in the world, loyally serves the “green” transformation, speeding up the construction of new energy systems and infrastructure. Since June 2017, we have established a strong partnership with IPTO, based on the principles of mutual trust and mutual benefit, promoting the modernisation and green transformation of the Greek electricity network. The interconnection of Crete – Attica is a key component of Greece’s energy transition strategy, providing stable and clean electricity in Crete, while significantly reducing its dependence on fossil fuels,” he noted. State Grid Corporation of China Vice President Zhu Guangchao said: “The achievement of this cooperation would not be possible without the guidance and support of the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Chinese Embassy in Greece. State Grid Corporation of China always adheres to the principles of extensive and constructive consultation, actively fulfilling its role as shareholder and maintaining excellent cooperation relations with the main shareholder of IPTO, jointly supporting safe, stable and sustainable development. Through this investment in the equity capital of Ariadne Interconnectedion, we will further deepen our practical cooperation in the energy sector between China and Greece. By strictly respecting the legal and regulatory framework of the EU and Greece, we will continue to work closely with IPTO to promote the safe and smooth functioning of the project.”
The agreement on the disposal of 20% of Ariadne Interconnectedion’s shares in SGID was signed
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in Undertakings