Southern Gaza Desalination
Seawater RO, 6,000 m3/day at opening, expanded toward a 20,000 m3/day target in Palestine.
Operational
The record
- Country
- Palestine
- Location
- Deir al-Balah
- Coordinates
- —
- Technology
- Seawater RO
- Capacity
- 6,000 m3/day at opening, expanded toward a 20,000 m3/day target
- Capital cost
- —
- Stage
- Operational
- Owner or client
- Palestinian Water Authority
- Contractor
- —
- Operator
- Coastal Municipalities Water Utility
- Finance
- European Union grant of EUR 10 million, implemented by UNICEF
- Award or start year
- 2013
- Commissioned
- 2017-01
Record last checked 2026-09-18.
History
- 2013-03
EU and UNICEF lay the first stone with a EUR 10 million EU grant
- 2017-01
Plant opened on 19 January as Gaza's largest seawater desalination plant
- 2023-06
EU and UNICEF mark completion of the expansion, plant serving 250,000 people
- 2025-03
Israeli authorities cut the electricity supply to the main desalination unit
- 2026-03
Airstrike on 25 March curbs output to less than 20 per cent of capacity
- 2026-04
UNICEF and partners restore access to clean water
Sources
10 references
Every field in the record above is taken from the references below. A field that none of them confirms prints as a dash.
- UN Question of Palestine (UNISPAL mirror of the UNICEF and EU release), Construction begins on seawater desalination plant (20 Mar 2013). un.org.
- EUR 10 million EU grant implemented by UNICEF; 6,000 m3 per day; serving residents of Khan Yunis and Rafah; plant installed on land adjacent to the sea near Deir al-Balah.
- OCHA oPt, Largest seawater desalination plant opened in Gaza (Mar 2017). ochaopt.org.
- Inaugurated 19 January 2017 producing 6,000 m3 a day with a projected target by 2020 of approximately 20,000 m3 a day, for 275,000 people in Rafah and Khan Younis.
- UN Question of Palestine (UNISPAL mirror), EU and UNICEF mark completion of expansion (5 Jun 2023). un.org.
- The expansion reaches 175,000 more people and the plant now provides 250,000 people with safe water.
- The Palestinian Water Authority head's reference to 13 million m3 annually does not annualise from the daily nameplate and is not carried here.
- OCHA oPt, Gaza Humanitarian Response Update 16-29 March 2025. ochaopt.org.
- Since early March, Israeli authorities had cut off the electricity supply to the main desalination unit, after reconnecting it in November 2024. UN Question of Palestine (UNISPAL mirror of OCHA), UN restores clean water after attack damages critical infrastructure (6 Apr 2026). un.org.
- MENA Water Review major projects register and PPP pipeline — compiled from procurer publications, development-bank project pages and trade reporting; each record names its source.
An airstrike on 25 March curbed output to less than 20 per cent of capacity. Budget left blank: euro figures only, with no conversion rate or date. Coordinates not established.