Famagusta district is facing a water crisis after the government was forced to abandon its chosen desalination site. The earliest the district can now expect relief is October 2027 — a full year later than originally planned.
The retreat came after hoteliers, local authorities, and the District Local Government Organisation (EOA) Famagusta all opposed the original Nissi Beach site, pushing the government to start over at a new location that carries far heavier regulatory burdens.
The decision was formalised at a meeting yesterday at the Larnaca Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, chaired by the Agriculture Minister and attended by Ayia Napa mayors, hoteliers, and Famagusta district bodies.
The new site — Ayia Thekla beach, near the Ayia Napa Marina and the Church of Ayia Thekla, close to a declared ancient monument — falls within the Natura 2000 protected network.
That means the entire process starts from scratch. A Special Ecological Assessment is now required on top of a standard Environmental Impact Assessment, adding months to an already urgent timeline. Construction is now expected to take 18 months rather than the original eight.
The cost of that delay is tangible. Had the Water Development Department signed the contract that went to tender in December 2025, the original Nissi Beach site — state forest land outside the Natura 2000 network — would have delivered water by October 2026.
That site required no special ecological study and had a clear path to completion. The original unit was designed for 10,000 cubic metres per day, with scope to reach 20,000.
The new permanent unit is expected to reach up to 30,000 cubic metres per day — but getting it built will require removing approximately 70 metres of rock, 2.5 metres wide, using specialist blade-equipped machinery, and laying a pipeline from the plant to the nearest supply point at Kokkinokremos.
Blocking the original site
EOA Famagusta president Yiannis Karousos wrote to the Agriculture Minister on 2 February 2026 opposing the Nissi Beach forest site.
Hoteliers raised fears over environmental damage to Nissi Beach and Makronissos, and argued the project had been pushed forward without an Environmental Impact Assessment and without the public consultation required under EU regulations.
The two alternative locations proposed by the EOA Famagusta were not accepted by those affected. Local businessmen operating in Ayia Napa subsequently proposed the Ayia Thekla site.
Signing away the blame
The relocation comes with a sharp political sting. Those present at yesterday’s meeting agreed to sign minutes formally accepting that any water shortage hitting the district in 2027 will be the responsibility of the local authorities and hoteliers who blocked the original site — not the state.
The signatories will include the Ayia Napa mayor and the five deputy mayors of Ayia Napa, Liopetri, Achna, Sotira, and Avgorou. The state, for its part, committed to doing everything possible to maintain water supply should a shortage occur.
The Cabinet first approved the desalination unit on 29 October 2025 at 10,000 cubic metres per day, expanded it to 15,000 cubic metres per day on 22 January 2026, and the objection period on the tender closed on 17 February 2026.
Until the new unit is built, Famagusta district will remain exposed to water shortages — most critically during the peak summer tourist season.
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