Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) is nearing completion of surveys for a proposed subsea desalination project that would draw seawater from around 500 metres below the ocean surface, with physical work targeted to begin by mid-2027.
MWSC Managing Director Hussain Fahmy said the offshore area towards Giravaru Falhu has emerged as the preferred location following studies conducted for the project.
Speaking during MWSC’s Let’s Connect session with the media, Fahmy said feasibility, technical and environmental assessments are continuing, with the remaining preparatory work expected to be completed ahead of implementation next year.
The project is being developed with Norwegian subsea desalination company FLOCEAN, which has partnered with MWSC to examine whether the technology can be deployed commercially in the Maldives.
MWSC and FLOCEAN announced their collaboration earlier this year, with the study examining the technical, financial and environmental viability of producing fresh water through subsea desalination.
Unlike conventional desalination facilities, the proposed system would take advantage of the natural pressure found approximately 500 metres underwater during the reverse osmosis process.
Fahmy said seawater available at that depth is considerably cleaner and contains less organic material than water typically accessed through conventional intake systems.
Those characteristics could reduce the amount of treatment required while improving the efficiency of the desalination process.
MWSC estimates that subsea desalination could potentially use between 30 and 50 percent less energy than conventional systems, which the company says require around three kilowatt-hours of electricity to produce a cubic metre of fresh water.
The potential savings remain subject to the feasibility studies now underway.
Managing brine, the highly concentrated saltwater left behind during desalination, is another issue being examined. MWSC says locating the system deep underwater could allow reject water to be returned to the ocean with less environmental impact than conventional methods.
The project could also address one of the biggest obstacles MWSC faces when expanding water production in the Greater Malé region: finding sufficient land for new infrastructure.
Fahmy has previously said conventional water production facilities require considerable space, making further expansion increasingly difficult in densely developed areas such as Malé.
Moving a significant part of the production infrastructure offshore could allow MWSC to expand capacity without requiring similarly large plots of land.
The company is also examining the financial model for the project before making a final investment decision.
Under the arrangement currently being studied, the Norwegian partner would produce the water and MWSC would purchase it at an agreed price, Fahmy said.
MWSC engineers are also expected to travel to Norway to examine comparable subsea systems and gain practical exposure to the technology before implementation in the Maldives.
The deep-sea project forms part of a broader effort by MWSC to strengthen water security in the Greater Malé region as population growth and urban development increase demand for essential utilities.
Separately, MWSC is working on plans to establish a water connection through the Thilamalé Bridge.
The company intends to lay water pipelines alongside the bridge and establish storage infrastructure in either Thilafushi or Gulhifalhu, creating another supply route serving Malé and Hulhumalé.
Discussions are underway with the government to coordinate the pipeline project with construction of the bridge.
MWSC has described the subsea desalination initiative as a potential new model for water production in the Maldives, where the availability of land, high energy requirements and environmental considerations present persistent challenges for conventional desalination.
However, whether the system proceeds to full-scale implementation will depend on the outcome of the technical, environmental and financial assessments now nearing completion.
