Algarve water utility puts Guadiana intake and desalination plant at €305 million

The new chair of Águas do Algarve told a parliamentary committee that the Albufeira desalination plant and a Guadiana intake at Pomarão will together cost about €305 million. The Pomarão scheme, linked to the Odeleite dam, is put at €188.7 million, with seven bids still to be assessed. The plant, already under construction, is put at €116.9 million and is due to start operating in early 2029. Both projects are meant to secure supply: the Guadiana intake would add an average of 16 cubic hectometres a year, and the desalination plant the same in its first phase.