Cyprus has received 13 mobile desalination units from the United Arab Emirates, delivered free of charge to help the island deal with a severe water shortage just ahead of the water-intensive tourism season.
Although Cyprus has a widespread reservoir network, it has increasingly relied on desalination in recent decades to offset declining rainfall © Mena Today
Cyprus has received 13 mobile desalination units from the United Arab Emirates, delivered free of charge to help the island deal with a severe water shortage just ahead of the water-intensive tourism season.
Cyprus has four large desalination plants with a combined daily water production capacity of about 220,000 cubic metres.
The UAE will supply it with 14 mobile desalination units under a bilateral deal, boosting its daily production capacity by about 15,000 cubic metres.
While the mobile units are a valuable addition in tackling the water crisis, the situation remains challenging, Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou said.
"This shouldn’t make us complacent. People must still use water sparingly," she said as she thanked the UAE for dispatching the units within a matter of weeks.
Although Cyprus has a widespread reservoir network, it has increasingly relied on desalination in recent decades to offset declining rainfall.
As of Monday, the country's 18 largest reservoirs were only 21.7% full, according to official data.
Writing by Michele Kambas
The United Arab Emirates summoned Israel's ambassador to the country to express its condemnation of "provocative practices by Israeli extremists" during a rally in Jerusalem earlier this week, state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday.
The United Arab Emirates does not see bilateral talks for a free trade deal with the European Union as an obstacle to a similar agreement between the 27-nation bloc and the Gulf Cooperation Council, the UAE's trade minister said on Wednesday.
As Lebanon emerges from the shadows of a deadly and destructive war between Israel and Hezbollah that lasted over a year, its people are trying to reclaim some sense of normalcy.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.