Malta tenders Euro 10 million desalination project

The Water Services Corporation of Malta has issued a tender for a reverse osmosis plant at Hondoq Bay on the Island of Gozo.

The €10 million contract is to design, build, test, and commission a 9,000 m3/d plant at Hondoq ir-Rummien beach, Qala village, on the site of an out-of-service desal facility from the 1960s.

The deadline for submissions is 18 September 2018.

The Qala Council of Gozo, a local government organisation, has requested a full Environmental Impact Assessment on the project, whose brine potentially threatens a local species of seagrass, Posidonia oceanica. As well, there are concerns locally about the impact of the construction process, and noise pollution from the plant.

The project forms part of a €100 million programme funded by the European Union to improve water quality across Malta.

Malta to redevelop defunct desalination facility on Gozo Island (September 2017)