Filenews 11 November 2025 - by Angelos Nikolaou
A story that started as an emergency solution to address water scarcity in Paphos, ended up being a prime example of mismanagement and lack of strategic planning in the water sector. The case of the mobile desalination plant in Kouklia is back in the spotlight, after the Audit Office investigated possible reckless management of public money.
The unit, worth more than €20 million, was built in 2010 by Mesogeios S.A. under a three-year construction, operation and maintenance contract. Despite its technological excellence, it operated only for a few months, between November 2010 and April 2011, before being put into reserve due to sufficient rainfall and dam occupancy.
The complaint and the investigation of the Audit Office
In March 2025, a complaint was filed with the Audit Office for wasting public money, focusing on the inactive mobile unit of Kouklia. According to the complaint, the facility "operated for just a few months and then was abandoned, while its equipment, worth millions, was found in fields after it was dismantled."
The Service, in a letter to the Water Development Department (WDD), requested the results of the relevant investigation, in order to decide whether a further audit would proceed.
In its report, the Audit Office emphasizes that the case highlights again the absence of a long-term strategic plan, with the result that "the state, in times of water scarcity, acts spasmodically to meet needs, leading to costly and temporary solutions".
"All possibilities have been exhausted", replies the WDD
In an extensive response dated November 7, 2025, the WDD explains the background to the case, noting that repeated efforts were made to keep the mobile unit in operation to avoid the additional cost of new construction.
According to the WDD, after the expiration of the initial contract, the contractor company submitted proposals for the continuation of the operation. The Department considered that this would be in the interest of the state, as the removal of the unit would lead to the need for a new project with a double financial burden.
However, the Audit Office and the General Accounting Office strongly disagreed, considering that any extension or negotiation would be illegal as long as it was not provided for in the contract. In the crucial meeting of 2014, in the presence of the then Auditor General and the then Accountant General, the position was explicitly expressed that the unit should be dismantled and removed, while in case of need, a new open tender should be announced.
The WDD, although it disagreed, was eventually forced to comply. "Despite efforts to maintain the Paphos CMA and avoid the high cost of new construction, legal commitments based on the relevant legislation ultimately led to its removal," the service characteristically states.
Thus, in 2021, a new, permanent desalination plant was built on the same site, under a new contract, with the state paying significant amounts again for infrastructure that had already been created.
