Cypriot Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou announced on Monday that desalination plants now provide around 80% of Cyprus’ drinking water, with that figure expected to reach almost 100% by 2027 once several new projects come online.
Speaking during a visit to the desalination plant at Limassol Port, she said the latest facility is the fourth new desalination unit to begin operating in the past two years.
The minister noted that when the current government took office, Cyprus had just five desalination plants built over a period of 25 years. In just over two years, four more have either been completed or brought into operation as part of what she described as a coordinated national water strategy.
The aim, Panayiotou said, is simple: reduce Cyprus’ dependence on rainfall and dams by producing more drinking water from the sea.
Another desalination unit is expected to begin operating in Limassol this autumn, while two more are scheduled to come online in 2027.
