In October 2024, SUR in English reported on the planned desalination plant for the Axarquía, east of Malaga. Farmers and the municipal water company Axaragua had agreed to split its output equally: the Junta de Andalucía's preliminary project set 12 million m³ a year each for irrigation and households. State company Acuamed was to build it, with the government advancing 100 million euros as a 30-year loan. Commissioning was expected in 2028 at the earliest, and the site near the Vélez-Málaga sewage plant required expropriations.
The report showed that the future users were the main drivers of the project and were expected to bear its cost themselves through a long-term loan.
Source: SUR in English