Caixin online reports a government official’s confirmation that reforms of water pricing for both residential and industrial use will go ahead:
NDRC [National Development & Reform Commission] Vice Director Xie Zhenghua was quoted by Shanghai Securities News at a conference on September 2 as said the government plans to make major water pricing reforms in both residential and industrial use. The availability of water resources has become a major issue in China’s social and economic development.
China’s urban resident water consumption has dropped to 171 liters pay day per person in 2010 from 220 litters in 2000, said Qiu Baoxing, vice minister of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development, at the conference.
Raising prices offers an effective means of promoting water conservation, but can disproportionately affect those such as farmers who can least afford it: see Why We Care About the Price of Water in China, via CDT.
Source: China to Scale Up Water Prices – Caixin online
