New water tariff among the lowest in the world: Ministry

RIYADH – The Ministry of Water and Electricity stressed that the new water tariff in the Kingdom is among the lowest in the world, Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday. The ministry said that they have taken into consideration the comfortable, healthy and wise per capita consumption specified by the World Health Organization (WHO) at 83 liters per day. This is despite the fact that the per capita water consumption in the Kingdom is thrice this figure. It is 256 liters per day. With this daily per capita consumption, the Kingdom is the third highest in the world after the US and Canada. This is despite the scarcity of sources of water in the Kingdom and the great difficulty in desalination of saline water and transporting it to the beneficiaries. The ministry said the majority of those benefiting from water services will not be affected by the new water tariff. About 73 percent of subscribers will not pay more than SR122 per month for water or SR182 per month for water and sanitary drainage services. The ministry said the government has attached special importance to the water sector considering it to be a basic element and a strategic factor to support the march of development. The Council of Ministers had recently issued a decision to amend the tariff for the sale of water along with sanitary drainage services so as to check consumption.