The European Investment Bank on Monday pledged 鈧�1.6 billion (approx. $1.8 billion) to help finance the Bay of Biscay electricity interconnection between Spain and France鈥攁 key project aimed at increasing power capacity between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of continental Europe.
The bank will provide loans to Spanish and French grid operators Red Electrica and RTE for the interconnection project, the bank said in a statement.
The parties signed the first loan tranches Monday totaling 鈧�1.2 billion at the EIB headquarters in Luxembourg.
"Initiative to increase the exchange capacity from 2,800 to 5,000 megawatts, improving reliability of power supply among France, Spain and Portugal and with the rest of Europe," the bank said.
"With a total route length of 400 kilometers, 300 kilometers of which is underwater, it will become the first submarine electricity interconnection between Spain and France," it added.
Construction of the Bay of Biscay interconnection is already underway by Inelfe, a joint venture between RTE and Red Electrica, and the link is expected to become operational in 2028.
On April 28, a widespread power outage affected millions of people in Spain and Portugal, with full system restoration taking 23 hours.
The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank, which serves as the European Union's lending arm, finances strategic joint projects across member states.
Reporting by Ata Ufuk Seker in Brussels
Writing by Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
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