India-Saudi Arabia undersea power link cost estimated at $9 billion, talks on October 5

Reports coming in for today mention that India-Saudi Arabia's proposed undersea power transmission link is estimated to cost around $9 billion and span roughly 2,100 km, with the two countries set to discuss the project at a high-level meeting on October 5, senior government officials told Moneycontrol.

“The feasibility study was conducted by India for at least a year and has now been completed. It will be presented before the Joint Working Group on Energy. The study has put the project's latest contours at around 2,100 km in length, with a 3 GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission capacity and a cost of roughly $9 billion,” an official privy to the development stated.

The Joint Working Group on Energy is one of the four official-level working groups under the Economic and Investment pillar of the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council. It handles bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, including electricity and grid interconnection.

“The project is among the first such cross-border power projects involving India to have advanced to this level and is of strategic importance as it will establish an electricity interconnection between India and Saudi Arabia,” the official stated, adding that the link would enable cross-border power exchange, strengthen energy security and backing the integration of renewable energy.

For the power link, that stated, the immediate focus stays on establishing a viable business case, officials stated. The latest cost estimate of around $9 billion is substantially elevated than the roughly $5 billion figure associated with the project when it was initially proposed. The October 5 meeting is anticipated to examine the economics of the project and ways to bring down the cost.

India-Saudi power link and OSOWOG

The proposed undersea electricity network additionally fits into India's One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) vision of connecting regional electricity grids to facilitate cross-border renewable power trade.

India is simultaneously exploring similar interconnections with Oman, the UAE, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, among others, but these projects have not advanced to the same detailed feasibility-study stage as the India-Saudi link.

The development comes shortly after India and Saudi Arabia concluded negotiations on their Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) on September 29, with the two sides discussing its early implementation. The pact is aimed at providing a more predictable framework for bilateral investments.

How the India-Saudi power link evolved

The proposed electricity line has progressed through several stages since 2023, when India and Saudi Arabia first agreed to cooperate on electricity and grid interconnection.

The two countries signed a broad energy cooperation agreement on September 10, 2023, followed by a more specific MoU on electrical interconnections on October 8, 2023.

The formal feasibility-study agreement was signed in October 2024 between Central Transmission Utility of India Ltd (CTUIL) and Saudi Arabia's National Electricity Transmission Firm, the apex transmission-planning bodies in India and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

CTUIL subsequently issued a tender for the detailed undersea-cable feasibility study in 2025, setting the stage for the assessment now being presented to the two sides.

The October 5 discussions will involve CTUIL, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), senior officials from the power ministries of India and Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia's National Electricity Transmission Firm.