In April 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House), citing Cyprus Mail, reported that the Cypriot cabinet had approved a new desalination plant at Kouklia near Paphos. The Water Development Department aimed to put it out to competitive tender in summer under a BOOT model, sized at 15,000 m³/day. The site held a temporary unit built in 2010 after the 2008 drought, seldom used and now being taken down. Farmers protested, fearing less water until the new plant was finished.
The report showed Cyprus seeking supply less dependent on rainfall, and how replacing a stopgap unit with a permanent plant caused local disputes over water allocation.