Cyprus targets water security with €235mn-a-year, 13-unit desalination plan

Economy droughtTop Newswater Cyprus targets water security with €235mn-a-year, 13-unit desalination plan Cyprus Targets Water Security With €235mn A Year, 13 Unit Desalination Plan Relevant News Door-to-door mosquito checks expand as West Nile virus cases climb 3 September 2026 Traffic collision closes lane on Nicosia-Limassol highway near Agios Tychonas 3 September 2026 Cyprus targets water security with €235mn-a-year, 13-unit desalination plan 3 September 2026 Angelos Nicolaou 3 September 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Cyprus’s Cabinet has approved a revised long-term plan to tackle the prolonged drought and secure the country’s water supply, backing a proposal submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. The long-term plan builds on the island’s four existing permanent desalination units, at Paphos, Episkopi, Vasilikos and Larnaca. The Water Development Department is tendering a strategic sustainability study whose baseline scenario would see desalinated water cover 100 per cent of the country’s water needs by 2050. The study will also determine the final necessity of new projects and how many mobile units remain in permanent or reserve operation. All 13 units currently operating, under consideration for expanded capacity, or in the planning stage are expected to reach a combined capacity of around 500,000 cubic metres a day, with an annual production capacity of 164 million cubic metres of water, at an estimated cost of 235 million euros a year. The plan is expected to become clearer once a water policy review and the desalination sustainability study are complete. Cabinet approved postponing a floating desalination unit in Germasogeia, with a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres a day, after the relevant tender process failed to produce a result. The finance ministry had flagged the high cost of the water, estimated at four euros per cubic metre, or three euros fifty cents with a submarine power cable, compared with between 85 cents and one euro 82 cents per cubic metre for the other desalination units. A sustainability study also found a low benefit-cost ratio, between 0.18 and 0.23, for the Germasogeia project. Its necessity will be reassessed in winter 2026 depending on dam reserves, though the land-based infrastructure will proceed as planned, after a socioeconomic analysis found the project beneficial due to its contribution to water security. Cabinet also decided to cancel a planned mobile desalination unit in Ayia Napa, with a capacity of 15,000 cubic metres a day. The Water Development Department had completed an open tender for the project and was ready to call the winning bidder to sign a contract in February 2025. However, objections from the local authority and hoteliers in the area led to the tender, and the project, being cancelled outright. It will be replaced with a larger permanent desalination unit at a new location. Addressing the current water crisis Cabinet reviewed a series of decisions taken since 2024 to strengthen the water balance and secure supply, then approved further measures as part of a broader long-term plan to strengthen the country’s water security and gradually reduce its dependence on rainfall and dam reserves. As part of this, Cabinet approved the implementation of three new permanent desalination units: at Dhekelia, with a capacity of 80,000 cubic metres a day; at Agia Thekla, with a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres a day; and at Polis Chrysochous, with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres a day, subject to all required approvals and licences. These will proceed alongside a new permanent unit in eastern Limassol, with a capacity of 60,000 cubic metres a day, which has already been approved separately. Together, the four new permanent units are expected to add 180,000 cubic metres of water a day. A further mobile unit in the Akamas area is also under consideration as part of the long-term plan. Cabinet also approved advancing a six-year desalination plan for 2025-2031, and, in principle, the long-term plan to cover the country’s water needs through to 2050. Final decisions on the long-term plan will depend on the conclusions of the ongoing sustainability study. New projects until 2031 The six-year plan includes the four new permanent units alongside mobile units that are either already operating or in the pipeline. Units currently in full production include Moni, with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres a day and its operation extended to December 31, 2029, Kissonerga (12,000 cubic metres a day), Limassol port (10,000 cubic metres a day) and Garyllis (10,000 cubic metres a day). Further mobile units are being progressed at Episkopi, with a capacity of 15,000 cubic metres a day and a target to start operating this month; at Vasilikos, in cooperation with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, with a capacity of 20,000 cubic metres a day, pending completion of a legal-technical review of the agreement between the two bodies, expected by March 2027; and at Mazotos, with a capacity of 40,000 cubic metres a day, where a request to suspend the project was withdrawn after a town-planning order was issued, though an appeal by the Mazotos community council remains pending. The unit is expected to be operational by May 2027. All the mobile units above are expected to be fully operational before the summer of 2027, adding a further 142,000 cubic metres of water to the water balance. Combined with the 235,000 cubic metres already contributed by existing units, total production capacity is expected to reach 377,000 cubic metres. Cabinet is also considering expanding the capacity of the existing Episkopi and Paphos desalination units, as well as extending the existing Dhekelia contract until the new permanent unit there is completed. 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