Cyprus has approved an expedited one-week permitting process for private desalination plants serving hotels, potentially affecting protected coastal areas and raising environmental concerns.
The Cabinet decision from 26 March 2025 establishes both a subsidy scheme for drinking water desalination units at hotels and a simplified regulatory framework that dramatically reduces the approval timeline from one month to one week.
Environmental groups have raised concerns about a significant omission in the new regulations.
Unlike previous guidelines established in October 2018, the updated framework no longer includes maps identifying Natura 2000 protected areas and bathing zones where environmental authorities would exercise particular scrutiny during application reviews.
This specific provision appears to have been deleted from the previous Cabinet decision regarding permits for small private desalination units in protected coastal and marine areas.
The Cyprus Foundation for Environmental Protection Terra Cypria has sent a letter to the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment raising five critical questions about the environmental impact of these projects and their compliance with European Union directives and Cypriot legislation on nature conservation.
The Cabinet initially permitted construction of small private desalination plants on November 14, 2024, but only for hotel water supply purposes.
This expanded on an earlier decision from October 9, 2018 that allowed private desalination facilities for major water consumers including farmer groups, hotels, golf courses, water parks and similar establishments for irrigation purposes.
Under the previous guidelines, a flexible and expedited process existed for applications producing up to 1,500 cubic metres daily, with the entire review procedure not exceeding one month.
Despite prior consultations between the Environment Directorate-General and all relevant departments within the ministry—including the Water Development Department, Environment Department, and Department of Fisheries and Marine Research—the new subsidy schemes omit critical environmental safeguards.
The minister’s response to Terra Cypria’s concerns is now awaited to ensure the permitting and funding process for private desalination units complies with environmental regulations and prevents potential damage to protected coastal and marine areas.
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