Higher Sewage Fees Are Planned |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/02/13 11:09 Shanghai Daily |
The city will raise sewage treatment fees charged to residential and industrial water users in order to finance the construction of new sewage projects, the Shanghai Price Bureau said yesterday. Officials wouldn't say how large the price hike will be or when it will go into effect. Currently, the bureau is conducting an assessment of the financial state of government-owned sewage treatment companies in the city, officials said. As the price hike will increase water fees, the city will hold a public hearing to solicit opinions and suggestions from local residents before setting new fees. Currently, only 60 percent of sewage created in the city is treated. The city wants to treat 80 percent of local sewage by 2010, a plan that calls for huge investment in new sewage treatment plants and pipelines. One ongoing sewage project to treat waste water before it is pumped back into local rivers will cost 4.67 billion yuan (US$563 million) alone. The World Bank has provided a US$146 million loan to help finance that scheme, which should be completed by the end of 2007. Industrial analysts say local sewage treatment companies can't survive without a fee increase. Currently, residential and industrial water users pay 0.7 yuan per cubic meter of waste water they produce. But treatment companies only receive 0.51 yuan per cubic meter, with the rest of the money used to finance the clean up of Suzhou Creek, according to officials with the Shanghai Drainage Administration. "The 0.51 yuan can't cover the costs of operating drainage facilities let alone the cost of building new facilities," said Xiao Shihua, an official with the administration. |
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