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China Needs to Raise Water Prices: Experts
There is still plenty of room for further water price hikes in China, despite a series of price rises by local governments since late last year, said Chinese water experts.
The present mechanism of the government-manipulated water price is irrational and should be overhauled, said Wang Guangqian, director of the Institute of River and Coastal Engineering at Qinghua University.
He said that the government should gradually reduce interference in price setting and allow enterprises a bigger say in the water sector.
At present, the price levels are not high enough to meet the actual costs and enterprises involved in the business still find it hard to support themselves.
"People still regard water as government welfare work, but many water users should pay more," said Zhu Tan, a water expert and also a deputy to the Ninth National People's Congress.
Water prices should vary from region to region, customer to customer, and business to business, other deputies to the congress said.
Further reform of the water pricing system was a common call from deputies both from thirsty northern provinces and water-rich southern regions, who attended the just-concluded Fourth Session of the Ninth National People's Congress.
The Ministry of Water Resources promised to continue to raise water prices gradually over the next five years to encourage water- saving efforts and to ease supplies.
But not all is well, despite the price hike, experts said, arguing that efficient management should be promoted and water supply should be treated as a business.
"The government needs to break the monopoly and introduce more market competition in the sector," they added.
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