China will raise the price of its water by issuing gradual and
affordable increases to better realize its water conservation
goals, said Qiu Baoxing, the vice Minister of Construction.
"The country's reform of the water pricing system cannot be
accomplished through one action as each area has its own issues and
conditions," Qiu said yesterday in Beijing, Xinhua news agency
reported today.
"China is feeding 21 percent of its global population with 7
percent of the earth's freshwater," Qiu said while he emphasized
the importance of conserving the freshwater supply. "China is
experiencing rapid developments in industrialization, and this
trend may continue for 30 years. If it does, we will have to face
more serious problems in water use and supply."
However, the water fee will only cover 20 percent of the cost of
the supply, far from that of developed countries, Qiu said.
Price increases are an efficient way to help cut water
consumption, but other measures like increasing efficiency,
breaking the monopolizing of the water supply and raising the
quality of drinking water will also work, he said.
"Hearings must be held before price hikes are issued to ensure
the public benefit," Qiu said.
Shanghai, a large water consumer, plans to increase its water
fees in the second half of this year to pay for water
infrastructure construction projects, said a previous report.
The preliminary plan calls for an average increase of around 1
yuan (US$12 cents) per cubic meter, which would be the biggest rise
in recent years, the report said.
(Shanghai Daily September 11, 2006)