Spinalonga to light up in 2024

After twenty years of adventures, the process of approvals and licenses began so that the construction of the Spinalonga electricity project can start. A few days ago, the municipal council of Agios Nikolaos, Crete approved the project as well as the terms of the relevant contract with HEDNO, the operator of electricity transmission networks. Now the only thing that remains is the approval of the Court of Auditors to proceed with the implementation of the project without further delays.

Efforts to get Spinalonga out of the darkness, as the mayor of Agios Nikolaos, Mr. Antonios Zervos, told OT, began in 2000. In fact, PPC had then agreed on the electrical interconnection of the island. However, the issue waned in the following years. "When I took over as mayor again, I brought it back", the mayor points out.

Thus, in 2020, the municipality submitted a proposal for the inclusion of the operation "Electricity and Water Supply of Spinalonga Island" in the "Philodimos II" Program of the Ministry of Interior, which was approved in January 2021 with a funding provision of 2,500,000 euros (including VAT). Of these, 1.7 million euros concern the electrification of Spinalonga and the construction and configuration of space on the side of Plaka, about 465,000 euros are intended for the water supply project of the island, 155,000 euros for the installation of Sewage Treatment at the archaeological site and 80,000 euros for the cost of archaeological oversight.

In particular, the project of interconnection of the island was included in the Network Development Plan (NPS) for the period 2021-2025 of HEDNO, which was approved by the Energy Regulatory Authority (RAE) on August 5, 2021. This referred to the new submarine cable interconnection of the island with...