Skip to main content

Desalination relief: UAE aids Cyprus in tackling drought

1 min 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.

Although Cyprus has a widespread reservoir network, it has increasingly relied on desalination in recent decades to offset declining rainfall © Mena Today 

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

Related

United Arab Emirates

UAE praises Rwanda-DRC truce, highlights Togo’s mediation efforts

The United Arab Emirates has welcomed the signing of the peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Rwanda, describing it as a pivotal step toward restoring peace, security, and stability across Africa.

Lebanon

Airlines suspend Middle East flights

Many airline services remain disrupted in the Middle East arising from the 12-day air war between Iran and Israel that ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took hold on Tuesday.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

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.