Ayia Napa, Cyprus. Plans to install a mobile desalination plant on the outskirts of Ayia Napa have been paused after opposition from local government bodies and tourism stakeholders. The project was intended to avert water shortages as early as next summer.
Project status and procurement timeline
The water development department (WDD) was reported to be in the final stages of signing a contract for a mobile desalination unit when objections from Famagusta municipality and tourism interests halted the process.
The tender was launched on December 2 last year under an accelerated timetable due to critically low dam reserves and pressure on the southern pipeline during peak summer demand. Bids were opened in mid-January, objections expired on February 17, and the unit was expected to be operational by October.
The project is now under review, with alternative locations being examined.
Planned capacity and proposed site
The unit was planned for state forest land at a former camping site and was designed to produce 10,000 cubic metres of water per day, with provision for expansion to 15,000 or 20,000 cubic metres.
Local opposition and consultation concerns
In a letter sent earlier this month, the local government authority’s president, Yiannis Karousos, told agricultural minister Dr Maria Panayiotou that he strongly opposed the plan, warning that the proposed site was incompatible with the character and economic role of the area.
“The entrance to the country’s largest tourist resort cannot be turned into a desalination plant attraction,” he wrote, saying the development would undermine the image of a destination built around natural landscape.
Local authorities and hotel operators said the decision was taken without meaningful consultation and without an environmental impact assessment, despite the sensitivity of the coastline. “We all want water security, but not at the cost of the very product that brings people here,” an Ayia Napa hotelier said.
What should be prioritised when choosing a location for water infrastructure near major tourist areas?
