Updated 5.30pm with PN statement
The Italian Environment Ministry has officially approved Malta's second interconnector, Energy Minister Miriam Dalli announced on Friday.
Dalli said the decision means the project is poised to be completed "by 2026". First announced in 2021, the second interconnector project was originally launched with a 2025 target date for completion.
"The second interconnector will not only provide security of supply but also enable the increasing share of indigenous renewable energy," Dalli said. She expressed gratitude to Italy's Minister of Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, for his assistance throughout the process.
The Italian government's approval follows approval granted by regional authorities in Sicily for the project late last year. The Planning Authority approved the project from Malta's end in January 2024.
The 245kV cable will stretch 122km between Magħtab and Ragusa in Sicily, with 99km of it running on the seabed. It will be the second such cable connecting Malta to the European energy grid.
Interconnect Malta - the state entity responsible for overseeing the project - has already awarded a number of tenders for works to construct the interconnector.
However, bids for the largest of those tenders - a €185 million contract to build and install the undersea portion of the cable - are still being evaluated.
Engineer Joseph Vassallo, divisional manager of Interconnect Malta, highlighted the progress made on civil works in Malta.
"The construction of culverts in Magħtab is already underway. This favourable outcome allows us to begin work on the 21km stretch between Marina di Ragusa and Ragusa in Italy, and, in due course, in the channel between the two states," he said.
The project is co-financed by the EU under the European Regional Development Fund (2021–2027).
In a statement, shadow energy minister Ryan Callus said the second interconnector was the result of the policies and strategies of a nationalist government.
He said Enemalta's plan, prior to 2013, was for Malta to have two interconnectors.
"Had a Labour government stuck to this plan, the second interconnector would have been completed earlier, and we would not have had to spend €37 million renting generators to expand the Electrogas powerstation's supply – a powerstation that is now proven to be a monument to corruption," he said.