The’ Ministry of Agriculture is exploring floating desalination units as a solution to combat prolonged drought conditions that have reduced dam water reserves to 25% capacity.
The Water Development Department (WDD) is pursuing two strategies to address the looming water crisis for both this year and next: offshore desalination facilities operated on ships and barges near the coast, and land-based desalination plants close to the sea.
The department has initiated preliminary market consultations for water supply procurement under Article 37 of the Public Procurement Law of 2016, seeking proposals for both floating and land-based desalination units.
For floating units, providers must specify vessel type, hourly capacity in cubic metres, water quality specifications, and implementation timeline.
Land-based proposals require details on plant location, capacity, water specifications, and deployment schedules.
The selection process will evaluate factors including water delivery start time, cost, delivery location, and infrastructure requirements for connecting to the WDD network, officials said.
In a separate development, the WDD plans to launch a tender in the coming days for a mobile desalination unit in Kissonerga, Akamas municipality, with a capacity of 10,000 cubic metres per day.
This project aims to address water supply issues in the Paphos district, which has been affected by the fire damage to the Kouklia desalination plant.
The department emphasised that time is critical for implementation and may include early completion bonuses in contract terms.
All produced water must comply with Law 46(I)/2023, which aligns with EU Council Directive 2020/2184 on drinking water quality.
Interested providers must demonstrate preliminary understanding of seawater quality requirements and drinking water standards, according to the consultation documents.
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