The government is considering increasing water prices for homes, industrial and commercial facilities to match the market price, in a bid to eliminate LE5 billion in annual state-provided water subsidies.
Mohamed Hassan, the head of the government’s Consumer Protection Agency, said that the increase will be applied gradually over five years.
The government is the sole provider of water filtering and distribution. It hopes to cut its budget deficit, which was LE170 billion last year.
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Facilities had prepared a draft law with the increase, which would be submitted to the Cabinet in the coming weeks.
Hassan said a cubic meter of water costs the government LE2, but it sells the same amount to citizens for 50 piasters.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
