Cyprus’ thirst for water quenched?

Cyprus Water supply levels have long fallen short of demand, but that is about to Change…

The Energy & Environmental Finance team at Bank of Scotland Corporate has completed a deal worth €13m with SILNIR Cyprus Limited to fund the construction of a mobile water desalination plant in Limassol, Cyprus. The plant will provide the Limassol area with clean drinking water for a 3 year period.

SILNIR Cyprus will construct a mobile desalination plant capable of supplying 20,000 cubic metres (20 million litres) of desalinated drinking water per day for the Water Development Department, part of the Department of Agriculture of the Government of Cyprus. 

Reverse Osmosis desalination is the process by which salt water is converted into drinking water by filtration and provides a solution to the increasing worldwide scarcity of water. Desalination was previously regarded as a prohibitively expensive solution, but the use of advanced technology has led to dramatic cost reductions.

Furthermore, improvements in operational efficiency, particularly around energy consumption of plants have led to an increase in the feasibility of plants and to the rapid growth in the number of projects under development.

Commenting on the transaction David Dwek, Director, SILNIR Cyprus Ltd and Subsea Infrastructure Ltd said: “Due to the arid climate, with low rainfall and high evaporation, water supply levels in Cyprus fall far short of demand.  Having now depleted ground water and fresh water sources, the country is now urgently looking to alternative solutions, including desalination, to secure supply. The construction of the plant is a response to this scarcity”.