The long-planned expansion of the desalination plant in Kouklia, increasing the unit’s capacity to 25,000 cubic metres is set to be completed by this summer, Paphos district governor Charalambos Pittokopitis said on Friday.

Efforts to increase water capacity were to proceed immediately, with President Nikos Christodoulides having given relevant instructions, he added.

Pittokopitis said that he highlighted the importance of the expansion of the Kouklia unit in view of increased water needs in the Paphos region in a meeting with Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou earlier in the week, with the minister assuring that the relevant works were already underway.

The district governor then moved on to raise issues regarding the long-discussed creation of a desalination plant in Polis Chrysochous, saying that the Water Development Department (WDD) would pay an on-site visit to the area, as well as to Paphos, to identify suitable sites for the establishment of further units.

The desalination plant in Kouklia had burnt down in December 2024 and was made fully operational in September 2025, with its current maximum capacity standing at 15,000 cubic metres.

Polis Chrysochous Mayor Yiotis Papachristofi in May 2025 appealed for lasting solutions to address the region’s ongoing battle with water scarcity.

He called for the creation of further dams in the region, emphasising the need for “proper irrigation systems” to prevent rainwater, which can currently not be collected properly, from being wasted and flowing back into the sea.