The Cyprus Case and Summer Thirst: Desalination Plants Against the Global Water Crisis

Summer is approaching and Cyprus is running out of water. After the second driest winter in recent decades (water levels in the country’s 108 dams have dropped to less than a quarter of their capacity), the Mediterranean island is facing one of the worst water crises in recent years. The situation is worsened by the arrival of summer and the tourist season, with millions of visitors putting additional pressure on an already fragile water system.

That’s why, to tackle the emergency, the Cypriot government has announced an extraordinary plan focused especially on water desalination plants, capable of treating seawater and making it drinkable.

As part of this plan, €3 million will be allocated over the next two years to help hotels build their own desalination systems, while another €8 million will be used to maintain water networks that currently suffer losses of up to 40% of transported water.

In addition to infrastructure interventions, a series of administrative actions have been introduced to simplify the bureaucratic approval processes for new desalination plant construction.

As of today, Cyprus has four permanent desalination plants, each with a capacity of 235,000 cubic meters per day. By October, another four mobile units are expected to become operational, producing an additional 30,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day, providing a significant boost in the country’s fight against drought.

Cyprus’s situation is not unique—the water crisis affecting the small Mediterranean island also concerns many other countries.

According to the UN, more than 2 billion people worldwide suffer from water scarcity, and many believe that water desalination is the solution to this problem.

According to the International Desalination Association, around 16,000 desalination plants are currently active in 177 countries, with a total production capacity of 95 million cubic meters per day.

Europe is home to 2,352 plants, though only 8% are large-scale facilities—these account for 69% of the continent’s total desalinated water output.

Spain is the sector leader, with 765 plants producing 5 million cubic meters of water per day, equivalent to 68% of Europe’s entire desalinated water production. Following are Italy (9%), Cyprus (8%), Malta (5%), and Greece (3%).

The Arabian Peninsula is undeniably a global laboratory for water desalination, and the preservation of its water sources is now closely tied to the widespread use of this technology. More than 50% of the world’s desalination capacity is concentrated in the Arabian Peninsula.

According to Global Water Intelligence data, Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water, with an installed capacity exceeding 7.6 million cubic meters per day, covering about 70% of its urban water needs. Following are the United Arab Emirates, with a capacity of nearly 6 million cubic meters per day, and Kuwait, where over 90% of drinking water comes from desalination systems.

Other countries such as Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman also rely on this technology for nearly all their water supply.

Among the most significant projects in the Arabian Peninsula are the Ras Al-Khair plant in Saudi Arabia, which can treat over 1 million cubic meters per day, and the Shoaiba desalination plant, built with the contribution of Fisia Italimpianti, a subsidiary of the Webuild Group and a global leader in the sector.

Fisia Italimpianti is one of the global leaders in the desalination systems sector. With nearly 100 years of experience, it has built plants that collectively produce 4.5 million cubic meters of treated water per day, serving about 20 million people.

Among the projects completed is also Jebel Ali M in Dubai, consisting of eight desalination units, each with a capacity of 80,000 cubic meters per day, for a total of 636,400 m³/day.

Fisia Italimpianti has also built water desalination plants in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain, significantly contributing to the water security of these regions.