The state of Libya without any doubt is facing a serious water supply shortage due to an imbalance between limited water resources and its demands. The country's population has tripled since the 1950s. As a result of the population growth and the improvement of living standard, the country is confronted with a severe lack of water resources. Water deficits of about 1154 to 4339 Mm(3) have been estimated for the years 1998 and 2025, respectively. There is an urgent need of addressing this problem properly to avoid serious impact on the sustainability of the development of the country. One of the possibilities for meeting the problem is focusing on seawater desalination and its integration into a general water management policy. This paper summarises the techniques, their installation capacities and the associated problems in running and maintaining desalination industrial plants, as they will become a vital source of water supply in Libya.