Hanoi mulls water tariff hike from July

By Vo Hai   May 7, 2023 | 08:38 pm PT
Hanoi mulls water tariff hike from July
A woman uses tap water in Hanoi, March 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Chieu
The Hanoi finance department has called for increasing water tariffs from July and put out a roadmap for further hikes.

In a recommendation it made recently to the city People’s Committee, it said water prices should be raised from VND5,973 to VND7,500 per cubic meter for the first 10 cubic meters for the rest of this year.

Next year it should be hiked to VND8,500 for the first 10 cubic meters, the department said.

For the next 10 cubic meters, it suggested a hike from VND7,052 to VND8,800 this year and to VND9,900 next year.

These tariffs are for household consumers.

For businesses, the department wants the tariffs increased from VND22,068 to VND27,000 per cubic meter for the first 10 cubic meters this year.

A survey by multiple agencies found that in the city’s downtown, a family consumes 10-16 cubic meters a month on average.

If the price hikes are approved, the latter will have to pay an extra VND15,000-26,000 per month.

On the outskirts, where a family uses six to eight cubic meters, the spending will rise by VND10,000-13,000.

"Tap water only accounts for 0.72% of a family’s monthly expenditure in Hanoi’s inner areas," the department said.

It had said last month that the cost of treating and supplying water has increased due to rising wages and electricity prices.

The prices have remained unchanged over the past decade.

But even after the hikes, Hanoians will pay less – VND75,000 for the first 10 cubic meters – than people elsewhere.

In the southern Binh Duong Province, households pay VND101,500, and it is VND81,000 in Quang Ninh and VND80,000 in Dien Bien in northern Vietnam.

In Ho Chi Minh City, prices depend on a household’s quota based on number of members. The cheapest block of four cubic meters per month per person costs VND6,700 excluding VAT and drainage service fees of nearly VND2,000 per cubic meter.

 
 
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