The Cypriot government has declared the mitigation of a severe and impending water crisis as a paramount national priority, unveiling a multi-million euro strategy centered on a massive expansion of desalination capacity. This urgent response comes amid official forecasts identifying 2025 as the most arid year the island has faced in over a century, a dire prediction that has galvanized authorities into action. The plan, leveraging substantial European Union cohesion funds, represents the most significant financial commitment to water security in the nation’s history.
Cyprus is currently enduring its most severe prolonged drought on record, a climatic extremity that threatens both its agricultural sector and domestic water supply. Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou underscored the gravity of the situation, stating, “Cyprus is going through the worst prolonged drought it has ever had, with 2025 being the worst year since 1901.” This projection has precipitated a shift from contingency planning to immediate and large-scale intervention, with desalination—the process of removing salt from seawater—emerging as the cornerstone of the state’s strategy.
The government’s blueprint involves the commissioning of at least seven new desalination facilities, with key projects slated for the districts of Limassol, Paphos, and Famagusta. A dedicated budget exceeding €200 million has been allocated, of which more than €140 million is expressly earmarked for the procurement of desalinated water. Minister Panayiotou emphasized the scale of this investment, noting, “This is the largest amount ever given for the purchase of desalinated water.” Concurrently, bureaucratic processes for registering private desalination units have been streamlined, and funding is being channeled to local district organizations to urgently repair and modernize aging water networks to minimize catastrophic losses.
This water security initiative is embedded within the broader, EU-co-financed THALEA 2021-2027 program, which commands a total budget of €1.5 billion for Cyprus. Approximately €700 million of this sum is dedicated to green transition projects, encompassing climate change adaptation and renewable energy. Anthi Filippidou, a senior finance ministry official, confirmed the program’s robust implementation, with full budget activation and over 150 projects already in motion. Parallel initiatives, such as the "Save & Upgrade" scheme for residential energy efficiency, demonstrate the interconnected approach to environmental resilience.
However, the aggressive pivot towards desalination is not without its critics or environmental concerns. Charalambos Theopemptou, a Green Party MP and parliamentary committee chairman, has publicly raised apprehensions regarding the ecological impact of the plants, particularly the dispersal of concentrated brine byproduct and its potential detrimental effect on marine ecosystems and local fisheries. The government maintains that all new projects will be subject to stringent environmental regulations and impact assessments, asserting that the existential threat of water scarcity necessitates such measures.
As preparations subtly begin for the subsequent EU funding period from 2028, the current crisis underscores a long-term challenge. The unprecedented financial and infrastructural mobilization for 2025 illustrates a stark recognition: for Cyprus, adapting to a drier new normal is an imperative that will define its environmental and economic policy for decades to come. The success of this desalination surge will be measured not only in cubic meters of water produced but in the sustainability of its implementation amid escalating climatic pressures.