Tunisia’s already close links with Italy will take on a more physical form should a scheme to connect the two countries by an undersea cable to carry electricity from Tunisia to Europe be implemented.
On March 9, Tunisian Energy Minister Afif Chelbi and Italian Economic Development Minister Pierluigi Bersani signed a declaration in Rome to establish a joint working group to complete the planning for the construction of a power station at el-Haouaria and the laying of a cable to link the electricity networks of the two countries. Among those included on the committee will be state officials and representatives of the electricity grid from both sides.
According to Bersani, the declaration was a further step ahead in developing a more integrated energy policy in the Mediterranean basin.
“The project for connecting Italy and Tunisia is an important step towards building the Euro-Mediterranean ring, to create a corridor within which to start the exchange of energy and power,” he said.
The cost of the new power station and the cable has been put at approximately $1.28 billion, with the undersea link accounting for up to $350 million—or 27.3% of the budget.
The joint venture would produce 1200 MW of electricity, of which 800 MW would be exported to Italy and the remainder used domestically. With a carrying capacity of 1000 MW, the cable would allow for some expansion of production and exports in the future.
Expansion of existing ties
Tunisia already has an energy link with Italy, a 155-km long undersea pipeline built in 1994 that runs from Cape Bon to Sicily, carrying Algerian natural gas to Italy and, via an extension, on to Slovenia. Tunisia and Algeria announced on February 28 that the present capacity of the line will be increased in 2008.
The plan for a Mediterranean electricity grid has been around for quite a while, but was given substance in a series of European Commission proposals set out in 2003. These formalized recommendations to increase the electricity interconnection capacities between Mediterranean member states of the bloc and Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Turkey and other countries in the Near-East, would allow for electricity transmission from one end of the Mediterranean to the other.
The stepped up interest in the el-Haouaria power station and undersea cable comes at a time when the EU is increasingly looking to secure its energy supply and prepare to meet growing demand.
Increasingly dependent on imports
EU projections forecast that the bloc’s member states will become increasingly dependent on energy imports in the coming years, with demand for electricity rising 1.5% annually.
Guidelines put forward by the European Commission (EC) in July last year propose that $6.3 billion be spent on electricity projects. Among the 32 separate projects put forward by the Commission, the electricity connection between Tunisia and Italy stands out, primarily as it is the only one directly involving a non-EU member state.
However, a report by the EC presented to the Council of Europe and the European Parliament on Jan. 10 noted that financing difficulties for a number of priority projects, including the Tunisia-Italy link, were causing delays to the implementation of the overall strategy.
High cost a barrier
The high cost of the undersea cable has been cited by industry experts as being of concern to the Italians and is a matter bound to be raised during the forthcoming meetings of the joint committee.
The agreement to increase the pace of work on the el-Haouaria project reached March 9 had been given a timely boost by Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi during a visit to Tunisia last October. During talks with President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Prodi said that it was one of the most important joint projects being developed by the two countries.
The proposal was given strong backing during Prodi’s time as president of the EC.
While the exact share of the costs of the project have yet to be established, even a straight 50% committed by Italy in the el-Haouaria power station and the cable would come close to doubling the $758 million of foreign direct investment made by Italian firms in Tunisia to date.
