The Great Sea Interconnector, will “greatly benefit Cyprus, which is energy-isolated” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Sunday, but for this to happen, the island “must prove in practice that it wants it”.

He said the intention of the Greek government is to start the project, which would link the island to Greece’s power grid, “and I will do everything in my power to ensure that there is agreement with the Cyprus government”.

He said there are some issues related to the payment of regulatory charges. “Issues that will ensure that Cyprus means what it says.

“What I believe is that very soon we will have clear visibility from Cyprus, that indeed this project is wanted and understood and it pays the relevant price to initiate the procedures and then, based on the planning we have implemented, we will proceed to the next stages,” Mitsotakis said.

He pointed out that for Greece, the interconnection with Cyprus is not the only project.

“We have completed the interconnection with Crete, we are advancing the interconnections with the Dodecanese. And we also have the important project for the interconnection with Egypt,” he added.

Finance Minister Makis Keravnos’ has said that the project is at present “not sustainable”, but President Nikos Christodoulides this week said the viability of the project depends on the implementation of conditions by Greece’s independent power transmission system operator Admie, which is the project’s 51 per cent shareholder and implementing body.

“It is to the benefit of this project, a very important project for the region, for our country, for Greece, for Europe, that these commitments be implemented as soon as possible so that the project can proceed,” government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis Greek Deputy Greek Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on Wednesday called on the Cyprus government to “clarify its position” on the matter.

Meanwhile, the European chief public prosecutor’s office (EPPO) on Thursday confirmed it had launched an investigation into the Great Sea Interconnector project.