The investment ticket for the proposed Egypt-Italy interconnection project could be in the USD 15-20 bn range, Deputy Electricity Minister Sabah Mashaly told CNN Business Arabic on Tuesday. Initial feasibility studies were recently completed with promising results and detailed studies are underway to determine the exact investment figure, Mashaly said.

About the project: The two sides started assessing the potential to build a 3 GW, 2.8k km, HVDC subsea cable that could see Egypt export about 5% of Italy’s peak electricity demand. The project would also connect the countries’ grids all the way from West Sohag in Upper Egypt to Italy’s Dolo Substation in the northern Mestre Industrial Area.

IN CONTEXT- Proposals for Europe-bound interconnectors from North Africa have been piling up lately, with the latest being a Morocco-France link. The new project — announced Monday by Morocco’s energy transition minister at the International Energy Security Summit in London — would connect Morocco’s Nador with France’s Marseille via a high-voltage power line, Detafour reported on Monday. No further details have been disclosed.

Morocco leads the region: Morocco already has two operational interconnections linking to Spain, and a 1 GW cable linking Portugal is in the pipeline, according to Italian climate change think tank Ecco. The country also has two other projects in the pipeline, including an expansion of one of its current cables to Spain, as well as the Taqa and TotalEnergies-backed Xlinks project that would connect the UK to 3.6 GW of Moroccan renewable power.

But Egypt is catching up: Egypt has two other projects in the pipeline, including a proposed project connecting to Cyprus, Israel, and Greece and the EU-backed 3 GW project — dubbed as Gregy — connecting to Greece via a 1k km subsea cable, according to Ecco.

More from Tunisia + Algeria: An EU-backed 600 MW interconnector linking Tunisia to Italy — Elmed — is advancing after securing USD 269 mn in financing from the World Bank. Algeria’s state-owned oil and gas firms Sonatrach and Sonelgaz also inked an MoU last summer with Italian energy group Eni to study the feasibility of a planned subsea power interconnector line to export electricity to the Italian and European markets.

OTHER REGIONAL INVESTMENT NEWS-

UAE-backed climate vehicle Alterra climate fund is investing USD 100 mn in Indian renewable energy firm Evren, according to a press release published on Tuesday. The investment, made through Alterra Acceleration Fund, comes alongside Brookfield and other investors and is Alterra’s first direct investment in the Global South.

Where the money is going: The investment will help develop and construct up to 11 GW of solar, wind, and battery storage projects across Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh in India. It will also support Evren’s collaboration with local manufacturers of wind turbines and solar modules.

ICYMI- The fund was struggling to deploy capital, amid what CEO Majid Al Suwaidi describedlast year as a lack of viable projects in the energy transition space. Alterra committed USD 6.5 bn to seven investment strategies managed by BlackRock, Brookfield Asset Management, and TPG, though actual funds spent are significantly less.

REFRESHER- About Alterra: The UAE-backed USD 30 bn vehicle was unveiled two years ago at COP28 to mobilize USD 250 bn globally by 2030 to finance the climate transition. It announced plans last year to direct an additional USD 200 bn to climate investments, with a focus on co-investments and direct investments, capping returns to attract external investors.

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