Cyprus has given the green light for an €85 million mobile desalination plant at Mazotos after the Environmental Authority issued its approval on Wednesday, clearing the way for construction to begin as early as June.
The plant, designated an urgent national priority, is expected to be operational by December 2026 and will initially produce 20,000 cubic metres of drinking water per day, with capacity expandable to 40,000 cubic metres.
Why Mazotos
The Environmental Authority selected the “Makaronia” site at Mazotos after evaluating and rejecting three alternative locations — Softades, Maroni and Psematismenos.
Softades and Maroni were ruled out on national security grounds, as both fall within a National Guard military exclusion zone. Vibrations from military exercises were deemed incompatible with desalination infrastructure. Softades also has protected archaeological monuments, while Maroni’s seabed contains protected Posidonia meadows and reefs, making licensing almost impossible.
Psematismenos, near Zygi, was rejected on environmental and social grounds. The site falls within tourist development zones, has limited capacity to disperse brine due to existing harbour works, and much of the land falls within a coastal protection zone.
Mazotos, despite requiring a longer 3,700-metre land pipeline, was judged the only viable solution, balancing national security and environmental protection. The seabed at the discharge point is primarily sandy with limited biodiversity, reducing ecological risk. The plant will be located two kilometres from the centre of Mazotos and 1.4 kilometres from the nearest residential zone.
Defence Ministry conditions
The Ministry of Defence played a significant role in the site selection process and gave its consent to the Mazotos location subject to three conditions.
First, the plant’s operators must acknowledge the proximity of the Kition firing range and may not in future raise objections to noise or safety concerns, nor request any reduction in National Guard training activities. Staff are asked not to work on-site during firing exercises, which can number up to 25 days per year.
Second, the Defence Ministry’s approval for this project may not be used as a precedent to justify future development approvals in the area.
Third, the pipeline route to the sea must run as far west as possible and entirely outside the Kition firing range’s danger zone.
How it will work
The plant will use reverse osmosis technology and will be fully automated via a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system, ensuring continuous monitoring of water quality and infrastructure.
The Environmental Authority’s approval was based on a Marine Ecological Study and a Brine Dispersion Study, the latter conducted under a worst-case 50% recovery scenario to ensure that brine discharge would not disturb the marine environment even under extreme conditions. Strict conditions were attached regarding the protection of coastal vegetation and salinity monitoring.
Timeline
- March 23, 2026: Data submitted by the Water Development Department
- April 8, 2026: Environmental approval issued
- June 2026: Contractor appointed, construction begins
- December 2026: Plant delivered and water supply begins
The plant is designed to operate for seven years. The Cabinet has approved a special decree bypassing lengthy planning procedures to accelerate the project.