EAC Cyprus to sell “cheaper” desal water from Vassiliko in 2011

The Electricity Authority of Cyprus has signed an exclusive agreement to sell all the output of its desalination unit at Vassiliko power station, when the unit comes on-line in 2011, to the government’s Water Development Department.
The desalination plant, with a production capacity of 50,000 tonnes a day, will pump the refined water straight into the national water grid “at a significantly lower cost of purchase than other desalination units,” the EAC said in an announcement.
The final cost of production will be determined once the tenders have been finalised and the winning bidder starts construction work at the end of this month.
In the meantime, the successful bidder will have to deliver a temporary desalination unit by November which should produce some 20,000 tonnes a day until the main plant is finished in 24 months’ time.
Although the temporary unit will probably have higher operating costs, the main plant will have a minimum life of 20 years and will benefit from low overheads such as no investment to lease or buy land, as well as the EAC’s commitment for the smallest, yet most affordable profit margin.