NICOSIA: Greece and Cyprus have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to press ahead with a subsea electric cable linking continental Europe to the East Mediterranean, the energy ministries of the two countries said on Saturday.

The Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) cable will link transmission networks of Europe to Cyprus in a project costing 1.9 billion euros

($2.12 billion), and later stretch to Israel.

On completion, project promoters say it would be “the world’s longest” such high-voltage cable at 1,240 km (770.5 miles) and also the deepest at 3,000 metres.

Based on the MoU signed on Friday night, work on the project will resume in coming days, the two ministries said on Saturday.

Cyprus has proven gas reserves but they have not been tapped. The island still relies on heavy fuel oil to generate electricity, with costs to consumers considerably more than their counterparts in continental Europe.