Mia Milia plant back on agenda as leaders revisit stalled deal

Following President Nikos Christodoulides and Tufan Erhurman’s trilateral meeting with UN Secretary General envoy Maria Angela Holguin, the wastewater treatment project at Mia Milia has returned to the forefront as a solution to Cyprus’ worsening water shortages.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Dr Michael Loizidis, a member of the bicommunal technical committee on the environment, said recent discussions had reignited political commitments that had remained dormant for years.

While no final contractual decision has yet been taken, Loizidis said both sides have committed in practice to moving the project forward.

“At this stage it remains a political commitment, but it is expected to be finalised,” he said.

The Mia Milia wastewater treatment plant, situated in the north of Nicosia, receives around 12 million tonnes of wastewater annually.

Loizidis said this volume is sufficient to significantly reduce pressure on water supplies and meet much of Nicosia’s irrigation needs.

Yet despite being fully operational since 2013, almost all of the treated water has gone unused for more than a decade.

“For purely political reasons, this water has been discarded year after year,” he said.

Under a 2011 agreement, 70 per cent of the treated water was to be supplied to the Republic and the remaining 30 per cent to the north.

Instead, the effluence has been largely discharged into the Pedeos river that runs across the city’s divide.

“Greek Cypriots already pay significant sums every year for Mia Milia under the water distribution agreement. This is by no means a new concept, but merely the implementation of commitments reached decades ago,” Loizides insisted.

He traced the origins of the project back to sewage cooperation agreements put in place some 50 years ago under former Nicosia mayor Lellos Demetriades, and his then counterpart, Mustafa Akinci.

Mia Milia remains one of the most important confidence building projects ever agreed between both sides.

“We are effectively in breach of this agreement by not implementing what was agreed. Now is the opportunity to finally put all the parts together,” he said.

According to Loizidis, the main obstacles are no longer political but technical.

The plant itself functions without issue and already uses tertiary treatment and advanced membrane technology, producing water suitable for agricultural use.

Around 80 per cent of the sewage it treats originates from the Greek Cypriot side of Nicosia.

What remains, he said, is the construction of supporting infrastructure.

Within the Republic, this includes two new reservoirs in the Potamia and Athienou areas, which he described as the most significant technical challenge and likely to the tune of several million euros.

Treated water would be transferred via approximately 10 kilometres of pipelines to the existing Vathia Gonia facility near Potamia.

The overall cost of piping and related works on both sides is estimated at between 15 and 20 million euros.

The project is EU funded, while the Mia Milia plant itself is operated by German company, WTE Wassertechnik.

The EU is expected to finance infrastructure works up to the connection point in the north.

If approvals are confirmed and construction begins promptly, Loizidis said implementation could be finalised within a year.

This would allow treated water to reach Potamia, Athienou and parts of western Nicosia, benefiting farmers and address a discrepancy in water balance.

Regarding concerns of salinity within the water supplies and potential damage that could be inflicted on soil quality, Loizidis dismissed such scenarios as unrealistic.

“I cannot imagine this ever becoming a problem,” he said. “Water quality is already monitored regularly on both sides and must meet strict agricultural and chemical standards.”

For Loizidis, the last squandered decade must be amended as soon as possible.

 “For years this issue was pushed aside, it wasn’t perceived as a priority,” he said.

“Now in light of shortages and droughts, it is impossible to ignore. This project can deliver real benefits if we finally move from words to action.”