Water tariff in Johor to go up by at least 10%

JOHOR BARU: Water tariff in Johor is expected to go up by between 10% and 12% in the next few months due to the high cost of treatment.

The increase, said state Public Works, Rural and Regional Develop­ment Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad, was unavoidable, adding that this would take place either at the end of the year or early next year.

“We received a proposal from the National Water Services Commission (SPAN) for a 22% increase about a year ago,” he said after launching a seminar on the water services industry here yesterday.

“However, we put this on hold as we were looking at ways on how we could deal with this situation without burdening the consumers, especially with the rising costs of living.”

Since the last water tariff increase in 2010, Hasni said the rate for electricity had gone up twice.

“Electricity plays a major factor in the operational costs of water treatment plants,” he pointed out.

At present, domestic users in Johor pay 60 sen for the first 20 cubic metres of water, RM1.65 for between 20 and 35 cubic metres of water and RM2.96 for over 35 cubic metres of water.

Johor, said Hasni, had also written to the Federal Government requesting for its RM1.3bil loan for the financing of water projects to be converted into a grant.

Most of the RM1.3bil, he said, was spent on rural infrastructure, which should be financed by the Federal Government, like in other states.