Massive Water Subsidies Decried

The government pays $200 million annually in hidden subsidies to water subscribers nationwide, managing director of the state-owned Water and Wastewater Engineering Company of Iran (Abfa) said.
“Of the total subsidy, $120 million are paid to subscribers in urban areas and the rest to households in rural regions,” Hamid Reza Janbaz was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Water is a heavily subsidized commodity in Iran and while urban consumers pay less than 50% of its real price, only 25% of the production cost are paid by consumers in rural regions, which shows that Abfa is deprived of $200 million in revenues per annum, thanks to the controversial policy, he added.