Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Hungary establish joint venture For Black Sea Submarine Cable project

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary have signed a shareholders' agreement in Bucharest to establish a joint venture for the Black Sea Submarine Cable project. This agreement was finalized following the 8th ministerial meeting of the four countries' steering committee.

Azerbaijan's Energy Minister, Parviz Shahbazov, announced the milestone on his X account, highlighting the achievement as a critical step towards establishing a Green Energy Corridor and positioning Azerbaijan as a key supplier of renewable energy to Europe, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The signing of the shareholders' agreement marks the official creation of a joint venture dedicated to the project's implementation.

During the meeting, the ministers agreed on a rotational leadership model for the joint venture, which will oversee the project's feasibility study. They also discussed the development of an Action Plan to expedite the project's progress before the next meeting. The feasibility study will address tasks related to the fiber optic cable line and the integration of Bulgaria into the project.

Shahbazov noted that the ministers supported the organization of a high-level event to promote the project at the COP29 Climate Leaders Summit. This project, first agreed upon in a strategic partnership signed on December 17, 2022, involves constructing a Black Sea Energy submarine cable with a capacity of 1 GW and a length of approximately 1,195 kilometres.

Bulgaria's intention to join the project was announced in June 2023. Furthermore, in May 2024, energy operators from Azerbaijan, Romania, Georgia, and Hungary signed a memorandum to formalize the joint venture.

The construction of the submarine cable is expected to take 3-4 years, with the European Commission planning to allocate €2.3 billion for its development.