The capacity of the production of water from desalination plants will reach 250 thousand cubic metres on a daily basis by 2012, said here Sunday Agricultural, Natural Resources and the Environment Minister Demetris Eliades.

In a press conference to present the work of his ministry during the three years in office of President of the Republic Demetris Christofias, Eliades said that this capacity would be enough to cover the water supply of the population and the tourism industry.

Eliades said that in 2012, the construction of the Soleas Dam is expected to be completed, and is estimated to cost 18 million euro, with the capacity to hold 4.5 million cubic metres of water.

During the last three years, he said, the total subsidy of farmers reached 497.87 million euro with the amount of 187.8 million covered by European funding while the remaining amount of 310.07 came from national resources.