London (Platts)--17Feb2011/712 am EST/1212 GMT
Inelfe, a joint venture formed by French power grid operator RTE and its Spanish counterpart REE has awarded a contract for building a tunnel that will carry a new power interconnector between the two countries to a consortium led by Eiffage and Dragados, Inelfe said Thursday. The 8.5-kilometer tunnel will house the high voltage cables for the new 1,400 MW interconnector in the stretch that runs under the Pyrenees. The interconnector aims to double power capacity between the two countries and will run for a total of 65 km between Baixas, near Perpignan in France, and Santa Llogaia, near Figueres in Spain. Inelfe said the tunnel would run alongside a high-speed train tunnel also being built through the Pyrenees. The joint venture already awarded contracts for the supply of the cables and installation of transformer stations to Prysmian and Siemens in December 2010. And work on the interconnector is due to get underway this year after all the necessary administrative permits have been secured. Spain's REE got the necessary environmental impact assessment on December 13. Meanwhile RTE CEO Dominic Maillard said in January that the Eur700 million ($950 million) project is awaiting "declaration d'utilite publique," authorization in France. This will allow the cable to be built on the basis that it is in the public interest and involves a public inquiry. Work on building the the tunnel through the Alberes massif is then expected to start in 2012 and last around a year. Other sections of the line are to be buried in trenches, Inelfe said.--Paul Whitheead, paul_whitehad@platts.comSimilar stories appear in European Power Daily. See more information at http://bit.ly/EuropeanPowerDaily