IPTO S.A.: 2018 CapEx exceeds 170 million euro Invitation for Expression of Interest for acquisition of minority shares of ?Ariadne Interconnection?
The company “ADMIE (IPTO) HOLDING S.A.” (or “Company”), informs that the Capital Expenditure program of its affiliate IPTO S.A. has registered a sizeable increase in 2018, reflecting the Management's commitment to accelerate the implementation of the critical projects of the Electricity Transmission System (with an increased focus on island interconnections), as many of those were delayed for decades.
IPTOΆs Chairman and CEO Mr. Manos Manousakis affirmed during his speech at the Athens Energy Forum 2019 that 2018 capital expenditures exceeded 170 million euro, an amount which largely exceeds the annual investment levels registered in the past years.
The pick-up in investments reflects the entry into construction phase - following a fast and transparent contracting process (thanks to the use for the first time of an e-auction platform) of a series of major projects included in the Ten-year Network Development Plan of IPTO S.A.
Indicatively,
-Phases B and C of the Cyclades Interconnection
-The Crete-Peloponnese interconnection
-The extension of the 400 kV system to the Peloponnese with the contracting of the so-called "Corridor A" projects (Megalopolis Extra High Voltage Centre - existing 400 kV transmission line Acheloos-Distomo) including the first 400 kV submarine cable in Greece (between Rio and Antirrio). This project will allow Megalopoli V power plant to operate at maximum capacity.
Mr. Manousakis noted that, “In 2018 we set the bar very high. We will continue on the same path in 2019. Ariadne Interconnection, IPTOΆs Special Purpose Vehicle, is getting ready for the tendering of the flagship Crete-Attica interconnection, which will ensure the energy supply to Crete for the next decades, and consists the first step for the transformation of Greece into the energy hub of the wider region.
He also stated that an Invitation for Expression of Interest to minority investors into Ariadne Interconnection capital will be launched in the near future. To this extent, contacts with other European Transmission System Operators have already started.
Athens, January 29th, 2019