Tropical fruit growers call on authorities to speed up Axarquía desalination plant
The sector is demanding a comprehensive water plan and has warned that the current infrastructure is insufficient
Despite the abundant rainfall in recent months and the fact that the La Viñuela reservoir in Malaga province's Axarquía has exceeded 90 per cent of its capacity, the president of the Spanish tropical fruit association (AET), José María López , has called for a comprehensive water infrastructure plan for the Axarquía that "guarantees the future".
His words come at a time when a future desalination plant is making progress in its processing but is still surrounded by technical and administrative uncertainties.
López has said that the completion of the draft project for the desalination plant is " a good step", but warned that "it is not enough" if it is not accompanied by a global plan that addresses the water problem in the east of the province in a structural way.
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The president of AET has focused on one of the main challenges detected in this initial phase: the guarantee of electricity supply. As he explained, "the plant will require 21 megawatts of power" for the desalination process, which he believes cause major supply problems if it is not planned in advance.
López's statement comes just days after Spain's central government said that work to build the desalination plant will start at the end of 2027, with an investment of more than 200 million euros. However, one of the stumbling blocks is the political confrontation between the central and Andalusian regional governments over responsibilities and financing of the project.
False sense of security
Despite the temporary improvement in La Viñuela reservoir after the latest rains, López has warned against what he calls a "false sense of security". He went on to say, "The solution is not to wait for rain, but to take courageous decisions now that we do not have the extreme urgency of other months," adding that there is a "structural" problem with water in the Axarquía.
The AET proposes a roadmap based on five pillars: the decisive promotion of the use of regenerated water "of quality and at affordable prices", the implementation of the desalination plant as a strategic axis, the improvement of the conduction infrastructures - the so-called "water highways" -, the simplification of bureaucracy and the implementation of aquifer systems.
"Water cannot be wasted in some areas while it is lacking in others", said López, who also criticised the "interminable procedures" that make it difficult for farmers to access available resources, calling for more agile and efficient management. "Now is the time to act, to execute and not to be late again," he said, concluding: "Water security cannot remain a promise. It has to become, once and for all, a reality."
