The Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) has announced a rise in water tariff for commercial and industrial units as well as government entities.
The Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) has announced a rise in water tariff for commercial and industrial units as well as government entities with effect from March aiming to generate an additional RO30 million to the state coffer. Accordingly, all industrial organisations and commercial establishments in the country will be levied an additional half baiza increase per litre and around one baisa for the government sector for every litre water consumed. However, there wouldn’t be any increase in the domestic consumption, said PAEW Chairman Mohammed bin Abdullah al Mahrouqi.
“We have decided to cause a peripheral increase in the water tariff in the country with effect from March”, Al Mahrouqi told the Observer. He said that this is a part of the revision as tariffs in the country has not been changed for long time. However, there wouldn’t be any burden on the commercial and industrial firms in the country as the water consumption is minimal. “We don’t think there is a substantial use of water in the industrial and commercial sector so hopefully, the impact can be controlled.” There were reports that the Omani government would revise its electricity and water tariffs applicable to industrial and commercial consumers as a measure to bridge the large deficit in the state budget since several months.
This revised tariff is expected to reduce the reliance on government subsidies to cover the variance between the permitted tariff and the true cost of supply of water. There has been a steady increase in demand for water over the years owing to the development programmes and increase in population. In order to meet the increase in water demand, two major water projects are underway in Qurayat and at the border between North Al Batinah and South Al Batinah. The work is now underway on the first stage of a pipeline that will eventually bring water from the Wadi Dayqah Dam.
Source: OmanObserver