Interconnector 2 is an AC, 120 km cable link that will be operated at a nominal 220 kV (245kV rating), 50 Hz between the substation at Ragusa, Sicily (36.88116 N; 14.68102 E), and the Enemalta terminal station in Maghtab, Malta (35.93899 N; 14.44192 E). The lifetime is expected to be 40 years. Its nominal continuous power throughput in any direction is 225 MW. The interconnector cable link will be composed of a land cable in Sicily with a length of approximately 21 km, a three-core submarine cable with a length of approximately 99km, and an approximately 2 km long land cable in Malta. The capacitive reactance of the cable shall be compensated by shunt reactors on both sides; 195-240MVAr in Ragusa and 60-120MVAr in Maghtab. It is intended that the interconnector is normally switched on from the Ragusa side. This notice pertains to the tender for the design, manufacture, transport, installation, testing, commissioning, and protection of 245kV and 145kV XLPE onshore cable circuits, terminations and the related civil works and structures in Malta and Sicily for the second interconnector. These cables shall connect the submarine cable from the transition joint up to the onshore stations and for internal connections. The interconnector project is required to further diversify the island’s energy sources and meet the projected increase in electricity demand from economic growth and electrification of the transport sector whilst enabling the deployment of further large scale indigenous Renewable Energy in Malta. The technical requirements of this project have been established by a front-end engineering design (FEED) study commissioned by the contracting authority (CA). The contractor shall design the details of the cable in accordance to the parameters established in the tender documentation.
The main components of this PIN’s tender consist of:
- Trenchworks and HDD works across an approximately 21km of cable route in Ragusa, Sicily and another 2km cable route in Maghtab Malta.
- Design, manufacture, transport, laying, jointing, testing and termination of 220kV single core XLPE cables along the route and inside the terminal stations.
- Backfilling with a low thermal resistivity material and disposing of extra material replaced by backfilling.
- Reinstatement and clean up.
The Estimated Value is of €68Million.