Is the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) submarine power cable project dead in the water? The GSI project, which is worth €2 billion ($2.36 billion), seeks to build a subsea electric cable connecting Greece and Cyprus and later Israel. The aim is to integrate the Republic of Cyprus into the European electricity transmission system and bolster the energy security of EU member states Greece and Cyprus. But although the project was launched in October 2022 with the aim of completing it by the end of 2023, it is currently not clear whether it will ever actually come to fruition. Project faces multiple challenges There are several reasons for the current uncertainty. Not only is the GSI an expensive project, it is also technically difficult and faces massive geopolitical challenges. What's more, the European Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into possible criminal offences relating to the project. The current situation is in stark contrast to the launch of the project in October 2022 when everything seemed so promising. Back then, representatives of Greece, Cyprus and Israel came together for a ceremony to launch the project to lay a 1,208-kilometer-long (760 miles) power cable across the Mediterranean along the sea bed between the three countries. Three men (from left: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis) stand holding hands and smiling into the camera. The man in the middle has his arms crossedThree men (from left: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis) stand holding hands and smiling into the camera. The man in the middle has his arms crossed From left: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Nicosia on September 4, 2023Image: Petros Karadjias/REUTERS