Malaga waters: Axarquía desalination plant costs increase by 52 million to guarantee long-term supply

The project for the future Axarquía desalination plant in Vélez-Málaga is advancing, expanding and increasing its costs, but the end goal is to guarantee long-term water supply in an area that suffers from chronic draught.

The two irrigation user associations and public water company Axaragua already have the design for the future seawater desalination plant. Now they must submit it to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Acuamed.

The main point of the report concerns costs. Initial estimates had set them at 100 million euros, before taxes and without additional expenses (consultancy contracts, land, etc.). The latest update foresees 152 million euros, excluding IVA (Spanish tax).

The maximum that the central government can finance is 160 million, which the aforementioned company and associations will repay in fees over 50 years.

With all the additional expenses, the total investment will surpass 200 million euros, according to the recently completed preliminary draft.

The reason behind this substantial budget increase is the long-term goal. The new design involves twice the initial production capacity. The design guarantees many decades of use. In the event of expansion, only the plant itself would need modifications, as everything else is ready to double production flows.

One of the stumbling blocks for the future plant is that, like other key infrastructure and developments in the province, it may suffer shortage of electrical power.

The saline water intake is located 1.27 kilometres from the coastline. From there, there are 1.5 kilometres of pipes to the plant. The coastal intake and discharge points are located between Torre del Mar and Caleta de Vélez. The always controversial discharge of brine (although always diffusers and impact minimisers) will extend 3.28 kilometres into the sea.

The water from the desalination process will mix with water from the La Viñuela water treatment plant. This procedure is different from that of the Marbella desalination plant, where raw water from the La Concepción reservoir mixes with water treated at the desalination plant and then treated at the Verde DWTP, which is currently undergoing expansion.

The Axarquía district currently needs around 22 million cubic metres of water per year for domestic use, similar to agriculture needs. The future desalination plant will serve both purposes. For this reason, Axaragua and local farmers have formed a single entity.

On Wednesday, the Axarquía reservoir stored 140 million cubic metres - unrecognisable given the long draught it went through.

During the drought, the district was relying on periodic water transfers from Malaga city, from the Chíllar wells and from the emerging reclaimed water for irrigation.