The costs of tap water in Ho Chi Minh City will shoot up by up to 50 percent from March 1 next year under a roadmap for annual water price hikes of the municipal authorities until 2013.
The new rates, from VND4,000 to VND12,000 (22 to 65 U.S. cents), will be based on household, production or service use.
The price for household water for an individual using less than 4 cubic meters a month will rise from VND2,700 (15 cents) to VND4,000 (22 cents) per cubic meter.
Those using between four to six cubic meters monthly will be charged VND7,500 (41 cents) instead of the current rate of VND5,400 (29 cents).
The price for a cubic meter of water will rise from VND8,000 to VND10,000 (43 to 54 cents) for those using more than six cubic meters per month.
Tap water for m anufacturing establishments will rise from VND4,500 to VND6,700 (24-36 cents) and VND8,000 to VND12,000 (43-65 cents) for business and service providers.
Water prices will be adjusted every year until 2013.
Under the roadmap, water prices will be increased by about 50 percent next year and 10 percent in the following years.
The current water prices, set in 2004, currently range from VND2,700 to VND8,000 per cubic meter.
The price hike was proposed by the Saigon Water Corporation (Sawaco), the key supplier of tap water in HCMC.
Sawaco deputy director Ly Chung Dan said his company was currently in need of US$3.9 billion to upgrade local water supply system.
“We will need to build five to six water plants to raise Sawaco’s total tap water supply capacity to 2.7 million cubic meters a day,” he said. The company’s current capacity is 1.3 million cubic meters a day.
Sawaco has also committed to reduce the present ratio of tap water loss of more than 40 percent to 32 percent in 2015 and 25 percent in 2025.
Millions of Hanoian residents will also be subjected to higher water prices by up to 42 percent from January 1, 2010 under a water price hike plan of the city’s authorities.
Under the plan, water prices will be increased to VND4,000 - VND12,000 per cubic meter compared to the current rates from VND2,800 – VND8,000 per cubic meter.