Filenews 28 March 2025 - by Angelos Nicolaou
Cyprus is facing a serious water crisis, similar to the one in 2008 when the government was forced to proceed with the transport of water by tanker from Greece to meet the needs, due to the limited stocks in the dams and the growing demand. In order to ensure the sufficiency of water for consumption and agricultural needs to a limited extent, intense efforts are being made to strengthen the island's desalination infrastructure. The latest developments show that Cyprus is proceeding with the installation of permanent, mobile, floating or land-based desalination plants, with the aim of meeting the country's increased needs for drinking water, in 2026, and in the future.
The Water Development Department (TAY) has in its hands proposals from 53 economic operators that have expressed interest in the development of floating desalination plants, which will be located at strategic points on the coast. These are units that have the ability to produce, some large and others smaller quantities of drinking water, adapting to the needs of the country and in combination with the existing desalination plants.
These floating desalination plants offer a number of advantages, such as ease of installation and the ability to move quickly to areas with increased water needs. They also reduce the cost and time of installation compared to land-based units, as there is no need to create infrastructure in inaccessible areas.
The evaluation of the proposals is at an advanced stage, with 13 of the submitted proposals under investigation, according to the prioritization criteria set by the Water Development Department. Candidate companies will have to meet strict requirements in terms of their technological capability, environmental compliance, as well as the economic viability of the projects.
The 13 proposals in principle promise to install the plants in Cyprus in less than six months and have a capacity of 1,000 to 20,000 cubic meters of water per day. These proposals come from Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Norway and Spain. Upon completion of the first evaluation cycle and based on the prevailing options, the TAY will proceed to their final evaluation, taking into account, in addition to the cost of desalinated water / proposed solution, the cost and time of implementation of the accompanying projects by drawing up the final cost/benefit table.
Furthermore, in the remaining 40 proposals, the response time for the operation of the unit is from 10 months to 24 months and come from the above countries as well as the following: Belgium, Germany, France, Malta, China, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
It is noted that in the context of the consultation, the contractors of the existing desalination plants of Dhekelia, Limassol, Paphos and Vassiliko have expressed interest in expanding their capacity, with the installation of temporary desalination plants within the area of the permanent units. These proposals are promoted independently of the upgrading of the capacity of these plants, which is a long-term action in the context of the implementation of the action plan to tackle water scarcity.
It should be noted that at first glance, from the proposals submitted for new mobile units in the facilities of the existing units, the units in Paphos and Episkopi are preferred to cover the water supply deficit observed in the two provinces. Therefore, the expansion of the capacity of the desalination plants of Episkopi and Paphos is promoted, with the installation of a temporary desalination plant with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day within the premises of the permanent unit. These proposals have emerged in the context of the public consultation carried out by the TAY and the expression of interest.
These proposals are evaluated by the TAY and the negotiation process with the contractors will follow, while implementing, depending on the cost of the proposal, the various preparatory studies that may be required.
The process of evaluating the proposals submitted takes a significant amount of time since each proposal is thoroughly investigated with the aim of identifying quick and effective solutions. In any case, any solutions that are promoted will require at least the preparation of a relevant project note (PCN). In addition, depending on the proposal, (a) the construction of infrastructure works for the receipt of water from the TAY and (b) permits/approvals/studies may be required.
Specifically, in order to address the water crisis caused by the prolonged drought, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment instructed the TAY to proceed with a public consultation and request the Request For Interest (RFI) from economic operators for the purpose of installing and operating floating and/or onshore mobile desalination plants. This is the immediate implementation of extraordinary additional actions by the Water Development Department for the reduction of water scarcity, which concern the promotion of the installation of temporary desalination plants, floating or land-based, where technically possible, through direct negotiation, provided that this is permissible under the provisions of the relevant legislation.
Ministry of Finance: Paphos and Limassol will be the first to see the effects of drought
The concern that prevails in the ranks of the Ministry of Agriculture and the competent Water Development Department (TAY) for the difficult year that awaits us with the water system was diffused at yesterday's press meeting regarding the government's measures to deal with water scarcity.
The competent minister, Maria Panagiotou, did not hide, nor did she embellish the existing image that prevails. She admitted that Paphos and Limassol are the first cities that may feel the effects of the drought. That is why, she noted, the measures taken are primarily aimed at these two cities. Obviously, she noted, mistakes have been made over time, but at the same time it must be said that many have been made.
As Mrs. Panayiotou said, the four mobile desalination plants, the expansion of the capacity of the existing desalination plants, the utilization of boreholes, the construction of two permanent desalination plants with the utilization of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) etc., stand out. She added that "we are already in contact with the General Accounting Office, the Audit Service and the Legal Service, so that where and where it can, the procedures should be carried out as soon as possible".
The Minister also briefly referred to the reasons that led to this situation. These are: drought for the third consecutive year, outdated water networks with significant losses, desalination that covers 70% of our water supply needs, utilization of desalination occasionally and whenever it did not rain, removal of significant quantities of water from dams for water supply purposes and deprivation of it by those who need it, i.e. our farmers, and those who are not in the desalination network. The devastating fire at the Paphos desalination plant has further aggravated the situation.
