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AMMAN — The Cabinet, upon a recommendation by the board of directors of the Water Authority of Jordan, on Sunday endorsed a plan to restructure the water and sanitation tariffs for households for 2023-2029.
The plan is in line with the 2023-2040 National Water Strategy, which seeks to ensure financial sustainability for the sector, whose debt currently stands at JD2.3 billion, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The plan included shifting to issuing water and sanitation bills from quarterly to monthly as of the September bill according to the current tariffs until December 1.
The first category spans from zero to six cubic metres (m3), while the second ranges between 7 and 12m3, the third from 13 to 18m3, the fourth from 19 to 24m3, the fifth from 25 to 30m3, the sixth from 31 to 42m3 and the seventh covers consumptions exceeding 42m3.
As per the new plan, no changes will be made for the first category that consumes less than 6m3 per month during 2024, where the cost is JD0.218. The tariff will increase by JD0.05 for the second, third and fourth categories that consume 7 to 24m3.
An increase of JD0.10 will be imposed for the fifth category, JD0.18 for the sixth category, and JD0.28 for the seventh category.
As for the sanitation tariff, it will remain unchanged for the first category for 2024 at JD0.23, while it will be increased by JD0.03 for each cubic metre consumed for the second category, by JD0.01 for the third category, JD0.03 for the fourth, and JD0.05 for the fifth, and JD0.02 for the sixth and JD0.1 for the seventh.
The first category covers 29 per cent of the total subscribers nationwide, while the second covers 31 per cent, the third covers 22 per cent, the fourth 10 per cent, the fifth 4 per cent, the sixth 3 per cent and the seventh 1 per cent.
The government will continue to subsidise the total cost of water and sanitation even after 2028 to take account of low-income people. In 2024, the subsidy for the first category, which comprises 82 per cent of the total cost, will be JD0.180, and the subsidy for the second category, which comprises 77 per cent of the total cost, will be JD0.170.
The subsidy will be JD0.157 for the third category, comprising 71 per cent of the total cost; JD0.131 for the fourth category, comprising 60 per cent of the total cost; JD0.106 for the fifth category, comprising 48 per cent of the total cost; and JD0.60 for the sixth category, comprising 27 per cent of the total cost. The seventh category is not subsidised.
