Plans for second floating desalination plant in Limassol

THE MINISTRY of Agriculture plans to build a second floating desalination unit using the infrastructure constructed to receive the water from Greece on the Yermasoyia coast.

The plan, expected to avoid the time-consuming objections period as it will be located on pre-existing infrastructure, will be presented to Parliament today.

The move to set up a second desalination unit in Limassol was deemed necessary in order to alleviate the town’s desperate water shortage. In the past summer, the town was totally dependent on the water from Greece, which provided the entire amount of drinking water to the town’s residents.

According to a report in Philelefteros, the Council of Ministers had decided to keep the procedure for this project secret, and appoint a contractor directly, without following the bidding process provided by law. This was reportedly decided to win time and avoid time-consuming objections, as is the case with the planned Episkopi desalination unit.

If all goes to plan, the floating desalination unit will start operating in June, pumping between 20,000 and 50,000m³ of water. It will be located off Yermasoyia, at the point where the underwater pipe that carries water from Greece was constructed. It is expected to operate for a period of five years, after which the permanent desalination unit at Episkopi is due to start operating.

Meanwhile, DISY Vice-President Averoff Neophytou yesterday blasted the government’s handling of the contracting of the Episkopi plant. “The government’s handling of desalination units poses serious questions. In the case of Episkopi, how is it possible that last year the Public Procurement Council had expelled a certain group of companies from the process and a few days ago they signed a contract with the same group of companies?” Neophytou asked.

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