The Consell de Govern has authorized the Balearic Water and Environmental Quality Agency (Abaqua) to contract the service necessary to carry out the preliminary study, the drafting of the projects and the processing of the works for three new seawater desalination plants (IDAM) in the Balearic Islands.
As explained by the spokesman of the Government, Antoni Costa, in a press conference, the contracting is structured in three different lots, corresponding to a new desalination plant in the east of Mallorca, another one in the east of Menorca and a third one in the southwest of Ibiza, one of the areas with the greatest water supply problems.
The maximum bidding budget amounts to 3.5 million euros, with a maximum amount of 966,000 euros for each lot. The estimated value of the file is 3.48 million euros, including the forecast of possible modifications during the execution of the service.
This contracting formula will allow each plant to be processed independently, thus facilitating that the works of those desalination plants that have all the authorizations beforehand can progress without being conditioned by the administrative status of the rest of the projects.
The action will be financed with the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS) and is part of a strategic priority of the Government to balance the water supply and promote the recovery of aquifers in the most critical areas of the Islands, which already suffer from problems of availability or quality of the resource.
In this context, the planned studies will analyze solutions to reinforce supply in areas with difficulties in both water quantity and quality, as well as to define, with rigorous technical criteria, the most appropriate alternatives for each island according to its needs and available resources.
The service will include the preparation of technical and environmental studies, as well as all the necessary documentation to advance in the planning and processing of these hydraulic infrastructures. The objective, according to the Government, is to have solid, viable and processable projects that guarantee a supply in optimal conditions, incorporate efficiency and energy efficiency criteria and reduce the pressure on groundwater bodies.
These actions also seek to increase the resilience of the supply system in the face of scarcity and climate variability scenarios, reinforcing the use of non-conventional water resources where they are most needed. From the environmental point of view, the planning of the new desalination plants will contribute to the recovery of overexploited aquifers and bodies of water, especially in areas affected by saline intrusion.
