The Mobile Desalination Unit at the Port of Limassol, with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters per day, has been put into full operation, the Ministry of Agriculture announced, informing about its planning in relation to the solution of the water problem.
In a relevant announcement, it is stated that the unit operated in the previous period on a trial basis where all the necessary technical and quality controls were carried out, and after they were successfully completed, it now operates normally and produces water that is added to the water balance.
This development is part of the overall planning that is being implemented to strengthen the country's water sufficiency.
This Unit is the third to be fully commissioned after the Desalination Unit in Moni, with a capacity of approximately 15,000 cubic meters/day, which started operating in July 2025 and the Kissonerga Desalination Plant, with a capacity of 12,000 cubic meters/day, which was put into operation from July 2025.
With the addition of these new units, the number of desalination plants increases from five, which were in operation until previous years, to eight today, while with the inclusion of the unit in Garyllis it is expected to rise to nine.
Specifically, the unit in Garyllis, with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters/day, is expected to be put into operation in the coming weeks, after the delays that arose due to geopolitical developments in the region.
In the planning of the YGAAP for the period 2026-2027 are the following desalinations:
1. the completion of the mobile unit in Episkopi, with a capacity of 15,000 cubic meters/day
2nd mobile unit in Vasiliko, with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters/day.
3. the mobile unit in Mazotos, with a capacity of 40,000 cubic meters/day,
4. the floating unit in Germasogeia, with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters/day.
According to the current planning, these projects of 2025-2027 are expected to add a total daily capacity of 157,000 cubic meters. In combination with the daily capacity of the five existing permanent units, which amounts to 235,000 cubic meters, the total capacity of the system will increase by 66%.
It is recalled that the five permanent desalination plants covered until 2023 about 70% of the water supply needs served by the Government Water Supply Systems. This percentage approached 75% in 2025, while today it has reached 80%. With the projects in progress, it is estimated that at the beginning of 2027 this percentage will approach 100%, through bridge projects, with the aim of gradually fully covering the water supply needs from desalinated water and maintaining the reserves in the dams for irrigation needs. Water awareness and the end of overconsumption, which is still a perennial problem, also play a key role in this planning.
This planning is part of the broader approach, which aims to enhance the water supply, implement infrastructure projects and manage demand, in order to gradually strengthen the resilience of the water body with the aim of water sufficiency.
