Junta does not rule out second desalination plant for east of Malaga province

Zoom

It was announced during a visit to Vélez-Málaga by the Andalusian regional government's spokesperson for agriculture, fisheries, water and rural development, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco

Eugenio Cabezas

Vélez-Málaga

Tuesday, 16 December 2025, 12:28

During a visit to Trops - the producer organisation specialising in the production and marketing of avocados and mangoes in Vélez-Málaga on the eastern Costa del Sol - on Monday 15 December, the Andalusian regional government's spokesperson for agriculture, fisheries, water and rural development, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, announced that the regional government is finalising the permit to determine the users of the future desalination plant in the Axarquía.

Although the water situation in Malaga province is completely different from what it was just a year ago, with 278 cubic hectometres in the reservoirs compared to 172 this time last year, farmers and residents in the Axarquía continue to call for the construction of a desalination plant, which would be a key part of the infrastructure to solve the water deficit in the eastern of Malaga province.

The spokesperson explained that despite the central government announcing plans for a publicly-funded plant in 2023, the regional government has not ruled out the possibility of an additional privately-funded facility, which was first announced in 2022. He also said that he has called on the central government to speed up the process for the public facility.

A second plant

Fernández-Pacheco said: "I am aware that users are finalising the drafting of the project so that the work can be put out to tender. The regional government is responsible for granting the water concession." He added, "If tomorrow other users were to arrive requesting a second desalination plant, we at the regional government would process it as normal."

In his opinion, "any additional water resources will always be welcome". However, he clarified that although "initially there was a private initiative that was viewed favourably by the regional government, right now, the project on the table is the one being drafted by the users, which will be submitted to Acuamed". He went on to say, "The water from the desalination plant will be desalinated water for everyone."

Fernando-Pacheco highlighted the work to guarantee water in the Axarquía "through the construction of tertiary systems in the area's treatment plants with all their pipelines, guaranteeing the water resilience of the Axarquía today and therefore, the future of subtropical crops in this area".

Regarding the water situation in Andalucía as a whole, he out that in the last week the region has managed to store 57 new cubic hectometres of water. "This puts the Andalusian reservoirs as a whole above 46% of their capacity," he explained.

Subtropical fruit

Fernández-Pacheco also highlighted the economic data for Trops, which "today accounts for 40% of the national avocado market and more than half of the mango market". He added, "In 2024, Malaga province achieved a turnover of 357 million euros associated with this type of crop. These figures are impressive in themselves, but they have been surpassed in the first nine months of 2025." The regional spokesperson highlighted that Trops is a supranational OPFH that receives 14 million euros in aid from the 22-26 operational programmes, of which the Andalusian regional government has already paid 8.6 million euros.