Iran Water Company Says Cannot Survive With Low Rates

Water is a heavily subsidized commodity in Iran and while urban consumers pay 43% of its real price, only 23% of the production cost is paid by consumers in rural regions, says the director of planning and economic affairs at the National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company.
Reiterating the position of past and present water officials, Masoud Khashaee said the prices are far apart from production costs, “However, raising costs across the board is not on the agenda of the Energy Ministry,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
Production of one cubic meter of water for urban users costs a little less than 10,000 rials (10 cents) and supplying the same amount to rural areas costs above this amount.