Water tariff to go up, says Saudi minister
Arab News - 15 January, 2009
www.gulfinthemedia.com/index.php?id=452515&news_type=Economy&lang=en

Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen yesterday announced his
ministry's plan to increase water tariff to SR5 per cubic meter. He,
however, did not say when the new tariff would come into effect.

Al-Hussayen said the increase in the tariff was aimed at preventing misuse
of water. In a previous statement he said that the increase would be applied
on certain groups of clients, exempting low-income consumers.

According to Al-Jazirah Arabic daily, the minister disclosed the plan to
increase the tariff while opening new projects of the National Water Company
in Riyadh on Tuesday.

Reacting to the press report, one Saudi real estate owner said the new
tariff would increase his building's water bill from SR35 to SR1,500.

"At present I am paying SR35 for 300 cubic meters every three months. I have
to pay SR1,500 when the new tariff comes into effect," he said.

At present water up to 100 cubic meters is almost free as clients pay only
10 halalas per cubic meter. When the consumption exceeds 100 cubic meters,
the tariff will rise to 15 halalas per cubic meter, the minister said. The
price will go up further when the consumption exceeds 500 cubic meters.

The ministry is planning to privatize its desalination plants on the Red Sea
and Arabian Gulf coasts and a tariff hike was required to attract much
needed private investments to the sector.

Al-Hussayen said a new desalination plant (Shuaiba-IV) would be established
along the Red Sea to meet water requirements of growing population in
Jeddah, Makkah and Taif. Modernization of Jeddah's fourth desalination plant
has been completed to ensure continuous supply.

The minister said the water problem in Jeddah and Asir has been reduced
considerably.

"The water problem in Jeddah has disappeared as we see less demand for water
trucks," he told reporters.

But most residential districts in Jeddah receive water after 10 to 20 days
and they still depend on water trucks to a large extent.

"We have made arrangements to prevent a repeat of last year's water problem
in Asir province. We'll supply water from Bisha Dam to Abha and Khamis
Mushayt," he said.

The National Water Company's new projects opened yesterday include a
customer service center, a training center and unified communication center.

Loay Al-Musallam, CEO of the company, said the new projects would ensure
excellent services in the water sector. "They will also prevent leakage of
water," he said. "We intend to establish three customer service centers in
Riyadh and Jeddah this year."