Cape Town is reshaping its water system to improve long-term reliability and resilience with the planned Paarden Eiland desalination plant, designed to secure long-term water reliability for communities, businesses and industry in an increasingly climate-constrained environment.
The permanent facility, with a planned capacity of up to 70 million litres per day, forms part of the City of Cape Town’s New Water Programme (NWP), which aims to introduce 300 million litres per day from diversified, non-rainfall-dependent sources. By 2040, approximately a quarter of the city’s water supply is expected to originate from desalination, groundwater abstraction and water reuse.
The Paarden Eiland desalination plant represents an investment of approximately R5 billion (around US$260–270 million). Following advice from a multidisciplinary Independent Advisory Panel, the City is proposing a 20-year public-private partnership model in which a private partner would design, finance, build, operate and maintain the facility before transferring it to municipal ownership.
City leadership maintains that desalination will complement efficiency efforts while enabling economic development. “Adopting water-wise operations needs to remain top of mind for industries regardless of capacity,” said Councillor Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation. “However, the Desalination Plant will enable economic growth within the City of Cape Town, including the expansion of industries.”
The project is expected to particularly benefit water-intensive industries, in particular Cape Town’s food and beverage sector which accounts for 3.6% of gross value added. Tariff modelling indicates real increases of 6.57% in 2030/31 and 6.63% in 2031/32 linked to the desalination project alone, although the City notes that tariff smoothing could mitigate the overall impact. “All capital projects impact tariffs due to costs,” said Councillor Zahid Badroodien. “They are a smart investment to secure water and avoid significant detrimental economic impact associated with exposure to climate change and droughts.”
The City adopted its Water Strategy, Our Shared Water Future, in response to the 2015–2020 Western Cape drought, committing to a diversified water infrastructure portfolio that balances cost, risk and resilience. Under this framework, insufficient capacity would increase the likelihood of severe water restrictions, while excessive capacity would raise affordability concerns. The current programme seeks to reduce climate risk at a manageable cost.
Desalination plays a central role in this approach. Temporary plants at Monwabisi and Strandfontein supplied potable water during the peak of the drought, providing operational experience that has informed the design of the permanent Paarden Eiland facility. The plant will incorporate a multi-barrier treatment process, including advanced pre-treatment, reverse osmosis, disinfection and environmentally responsible brine management. The project has completed its pre-feasibility phase and is now undergoing a detailed feasibility assessment, with procurement opportunities anticipated from 2027.
