A tender competition is to be announced in the summer for the construction of a new desalination plant in Paphos, acting head of the Water Development Department (WDD) Andreas Manoli said on Thursday.

The Cabinet gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the construction of a desalination unit with a daily capacity of 15,000 cubic metres. The unit is to be built in Kouklia, in the same location where a mobile desalination unit had been installed in 2010, which is now being dismantled.

According to the cabinet, the decision was taken as part of the government policy to secure alternative access to fresh water resources and to move away from over overreliance on rain water.

“All areas of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta are being served by the existing desalination units whose total daily capacity is 220,000 cubic metres, and which is more than enough to meet maximum demand during the summer season,” an announcement said.

(LINK)