Georgia–Romania submarine cable moves towards seabed survey. Its cost has risen by half in four years

The project for the world’s longest submarine electricity interconnector, intended to link the Caucasus with the European grid, moved to the preparatory phase for a Black Sea seabed survey at the end of July. At a meeting on 29 July, Romanian transmission system operator Transelectrica confirmed that the feasibility study is also being updated and that economic and regulatory analyses are being prepared. The cost estimate has meanwhile risen from EUR 2.3 billion to around EUR 3.5 billion, while the question of whose electricity will flow through the 1,300 MW cable remains open. 

The Black Sea Submarine Cable project envisages a direct-current interconnection between Anaklia in Georgia and Topraisar near Constanța in Romania. According to information from Transelectrica, a 2024 study by Italian company CESI recommended an option with a transmission capacity of 1,300 MW, at a voltage of ±525 kV and with a total length of around 1,155 kilometres, of which approximately 1,115 kilometres would be underwater. Parts of the route would run at depths exceeding 2,500 metres.