Positive
Project advancing - milestone achieved
High Impact
Major milestone or critical setback
On 23 April 2026, the European Investment Bank and the Republic of Malta signed a €100 million financing agreement supporting the development of Malta's second electricity interconnector with Italy (IC2). The signing was jointly announced by EIB Vice-President Marek Mora and Malta's Minister for Finance Clyde Caruana, representing the first tranche signed of the wider €168 million EIB envelope approved on 8 July 2025 for the SECOND INTERCONNECTOR MALTA SICILIA project. The signed amount comprises €49 million attributed to the Maltese side and €51 million to the Italian side of the cross-border link. The €100 million tranche partially debt-finances the €296.68 million project, alongside European Regional Development Fund support and the Republic of Malta's own resources. Funds are used by InterConnect Malta — the 100% government-owned promoter and operator — to procure and install the 122 km, 225 MW, 220 kV HVAC subsea cable between the Enemalta terminal station at Magħtab and Terna's 220 kV substation at Contrada Cimillà in Ragusa, Sicily. The EIB operation also benefited from earlier advisory support through JASPERS during project preparation, covering financial and economic viability assessment. The signing confirms that the interconnector is "scheduled to enter into operation in the first quarter of 2027", per the EIB press release accompanying the announcement.