The agreement for the sale of 20% of the shares of Ariadne Interconnection, a subsidiary of PTO and the operator of the Crete-Attica electricity interconnection, to State Grid International Development (SGID), was signed by the Chairman and CEO of the Operator, Mr. Manos Manousakis, and the Chairman of SGID, Mr. Yu Jun. 

The signing of the agreement took place in the presence of Mr. Aristotle Aivaliotis, Secretary General of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources; Mr. Fang Qiu, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Greece; and Mr. Jin Wei, Executive Vice President of State Grid Corporation of China. The ceremony was also attended by senior executives of ADMIE, ADMIE Holdings, and State Grid.

During his address, Mr. Aivaliotis praised the cooperation between IPTO and State Grid, underscoring the importance of electricity interconnections in the country's energy transformation. "Greece envisages becoming a major energy hub, and the electrical interconnections will play a key role in this direction. The state welcomes this new cooperation with the friendly country of China and supports IPTO in the important projects it is implementing for the country," he said. 

For his part, Manousakis stressed that the entry of State Grid International Development into the shareholding of Ariadne Interconnection is a strong vote of confidence in both IPTO and the Crete-Attium electricity interconnection project itself. "IPTO has proven to be a modern and extroverted European operator, with high expertise and an ambitious strategy. Our investments are geared towards accelerating the energy transition and making Greece a powerful infrastructure hub at the crossroads of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Strategic partnerships, such as the one with the State Grid Corporation of China, the operator of the world's largest electricity transmission system, contribute to achieving these goals. Building on this relationship, I am confident that State Grid International Development's investment participation will enhance the growth prospects of Ariadne, the operator implementing the largest island interconnection Greece has seen to date," he said.

On the progress of the project, the head of IPTO said that construction of the Crete-Attica electricity interconnection will be completed by the end of the year, followed by its trial operation, with the aim of putting it into commercial operation in the summer of 2025.